Fighting In The Streets
by geddiknight
Summary: Ever since the New Year's Massacre on Wuhu Island and Bowser finally being seized by the forces of the Mushroom Kingdom. Soon to be called Queen Peach issues out the Mushroom Accords, making changes to lands and giving Bowser the trial to save himself from execution: The biggest Double-Dash Tournament ever. At the same time others struggle to adapt to the new changes. POLL IN BIO
1. Donkey Bingo

**KEY FACT: THIS CHAPTER IS THE PREVIEW OF THE WHOLE FANFIC – THE REST MAY NOT BE RELEASED FOR A COUPLE MONTHS, BUT AFTER THAT TIME COMES AROUND THEY WLL BE RELEASED FREQUENTLY.**

" **With the Princesses and the Mario Brothers given full power of the Mushroom Kingdoms and the North has been ceased to an acceptable level, Bowser has been surrounded and placed on trial following his last days to live. What he decides it to be attracts famous characters from all over the lands to participate in the world's biggest Double Dash Tournament to Date including 16 duos. If Bowser wins, he is set free. At the same time, many other characters face new experiences without having the main antagonist with power. Will their fate be the same as Bowser's? Includes many fan favourite characters."**

Fighting In the Streets

Chapter 1 – Donkey Bingo

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo belongings.**

 **A/N: It would be 100% more understanding if you have read Speed Dials and the Two Origins; this is the Sequel to all of them. If you have read them, go straight ahead and that's completely fine. If you haven't and are probably not bothered to then that's a bit depressing – shame on you!**

 **I recommend reading them before this but if you still are not bothered then here's a quick background. This contains SPOILERS of the other fanfics so once again, I advise to read the others, and you would get a bit confused when reading this. This fanfic is set during events that occur after Rhonaward's arrest, the Résethal riots were ceased in 2010(2) but only stopped just after January 2015(1), Bowser is almost on the edge of loss to the Mushroom Kingdom, but before he is sentenced to *achoo!* he is allowed to do one thing before he cannot do anything anymore. Some of the parts of this chapter may be a bit lecturing but it is still obligatory to read them.**

 **Although I have already typed around 200 words, I don't care you need to get it in your head. Let's start the fanfic.**

Part One – Everyday Lives.

January 5, 2015(1), 8:50PM

Showtime.

He rotated to his right, investigating any equipment that may be of use in his job. A slight tickle of green booger dashed down his cupid bow while he stretched from his stool to grab his tiny red tie. After spending over a minute trying to eventually put it on, he jumped upwards and landed on his stool on all fours, rotating to his right so the far right of his right eye could notice anybody who he would expect to be behind him.

Nobody.

After jumping up and doing a 180degree turn to the right, he glanced along what seemed to be an endless corridor of rooms. Suddenly, he started to hear banging noises from the room next to him.

"Useless, Malfunctioning, Machine!" A rather Toad-ish voice whined across the entire area. He got up and crawled along the floor, investigating the room next to his. He could hear more banging on what he presumed was the machine that was causing all of the kafuffle. Nervously, he opened the door and then slowly rolled his eyes in relief. He had realised that the source of the loud noises was just a printer.

"A printer?" He opened the door widely and jumped up onto a stool.

"Mister Kong, it's good to see you're ready before I am." The Blue Toad flicked up his glasses and looked at Donkey Kong.

"Have you printed out the sheets?" He asked quickly while looking to the right along the corridor which led to the main room of the building he was in.

"That's the thing; the printer does not seem to be working." He turned around and climbed onto the table, investigating all sides of the printer, which did not actually look broken.

"Toadbert! We're going to have to cancel it." Donkey Kong turned back to the printer in annoyance. He jumped off of his stool and hopped across the corridor towards the stage which was in another room. He jumped up onto it and glared at the several elderly Toad citizens sitting at tables, all bored, some sleeping and some standing up totally clueless.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the poor productivity of our printer, we're going to have to cancel Bingo tonight." Donkey Kong spoke through the microphone; surprisingly, there were no ranting Toads.

"We're playing Bingo?" One of the Toads who seemed to have short memory questioned Donkey Kong as he sat back down on his chair.

"Bingo? I thought this was Old Koopish Language Club." The Toads began to get up and leave the building, all proceeding home. Donkey Kong turned to his right where he saw Toadbert with his right thumb up. Donkey Kong raised his left arm and slowly walked back to the room that he was in two minutes ago, at this point in time he was actually relieved that Toadbert said nothing; he had a feeling that if he did, he wouldn't be seeing him for a while.

"I guess it's time to go." Donkey Kong hopped towards his belongings which lay on the left corner of his 'preparation' room and picked them up weirdly.

"This is the life." Toadbert giggled anxiously as he unplugged the disturbing printer and grabbed his twenty-centimetre rucksack with all of his belongings and departed the building with Donkey Kong. The two travelled for three minutes along the suburban roads of Mushroom City, until they came across the car park.

"Good night Toadbert, see you tomorrow." Donkey Kong got his keys out and slowly separated from Toadbert, who decided to walk home on this night. Whereas Donkey Kong opened the boot of his car and shoved his preparation items inside of it, he swiped the few sweat droplets from his forehead and closed the car boot quickly. He noticed a vague human reflection from the window of his car and noticed that it was actually a human.

"Bingo, Bingo." The human remarked as Donkey Kong remained staring at the window for a while. "Is this what you do now, for a living?" The human continued as he walked over towards Donkey Kong's car only to get a better look at his face rather than looking at the window to see a silhouette.

"Who are you supposed to be?" Donkey Kong finally turned around and stared at the human.

"That's what I thought you said." He laughed as he scratched his nose.

"My job is a caring job, I host the Bingo for the Toad pensioners, it's one of the lowest paid jobs in the whole kingdom, and because of the absence of Bowser, I am only getting twenty coins a month, which in Toad circumstances it is like fifty pounds a week. I will ask again, who are you supposed to be?" Donkey Kong's voice changed elaborately as he looked directly into the human's eyes.

"Who am I, my name is Tom Tûnis, and I am the guy who technically ruined your life..."

Donkey Kong did absolutely nothing for the next few minutes besides keep staring at the human. However, sweat began to race down his face as he continued staring.

"T-thanks to you, I haven't got a well-paying job." He shivered as he walked around his car towards the driver's seat door.

"Not just me, there's another human that kind of helped as well, but he's gone back to the real world." Tom stated as he walked to the other side of the car. Donkey Kong looked through the two windows of the car, noticing Tom, making his eyelids drop until he could still just about see.

"Get in." He said depressingly as he opened the door to the pre-owned Fiat 500. The two jumped into the vehicle and drove out of the car park and into Toad's Turnpike.

"Well then." Tom began. "I must say working for Bowser doesn't really count as a job, earning over ten thousand coins a year for throwing a few barrels and eating a few bananas every now and then, there's no effort in it.

"How do you get YOUR money then?" Donkey Kong asked with a much louder voice.

"I don't have a job; I retired from serving the princess just after I stopped the riots. I live on the blocks, and I can easily get twenty coins a day if you go out of the cities. Or maybe Bowser is going to donate all of his money, by money he means what he has left.

"You know what will happen to him?"

"Vaguely, I heard that Princess Peach is going to dine on his heart with a sword as she slices it through his corpse, if that happens." Tom proclaimed as the car changed lanes.

"Turn off on the next left." He asked as Donkey Kong steered the wheel going to the Mushroom City circuit track.

"Didn't he say he was going to announce it tomorrow?" Donkey Kong wondered as he once again switched lanes. He had the urge to speed on the road like he tended to do in most Karting events, but this time he kept a slow pace. Suddenly the car began to slow down due to an unusual and surprising amount of traffic.

"It's 21:00; there cannot be so much traffic at this time of night." Tom complained as he looked at the one-hundred or so cars that were on each lane. He hopped out of the Fiat and jogged through the traffic and noticed that the source of it was a car crash by the inter-crossing bridge, when Tom arrived from the top left corner of the 'starting line' there was a crash by the right of it. Several cones were stopping the vehicles from passing by and Tom walked across the Police line that separated the crash from the vehicles.

"Sir I'm afraid you're not allowed to go beyond this point." A Toad Police Patrol halted Tom as he investigated the car.

"Please, I saved _your_ life! I might be able to save the owner of this car's one too." Tom ignored the Police Patrol and opened the main door of the car.

"Uh, help." The owner of the car was just about able to speak, Tom undid his seatbelt and carried him out of the car, an ambulance arrived from the top right of the bridge, the only set of lanes that was not entirely covered in traffic.

"Remember to get the patient out of the vehicle instead of letting him die." Tom walked over to the ambulance and handed the Toad over to the medics.

"Is he alive?" The police patrol asked.

"Yes, thanks to me." Tom replied as he headed over to the crashed vehicle.

"Okay people! You can go now!" The police patrol shouted out, making the traffic proceed onwards back to normal in Mushroom City. Tom investigated the vehicle, and found nothing suspicious by the front seats. It was a Taxi unusually in the shape of a van, and he opened up an area to store vehicle items and spotted an envelope wrapped in leather and secured with solid Bowser Oil, he also noticed a body at the very back of the car, presumed dead, he left the body to be dealt with the police. Tom ripped the lock off and read the envelope.

 _Dearest Toadstool,_

 _I am submitting my final choice of events that will take place from January 15, 2015(1) to March 10, 2015(1). It is a Double Dash themed Kart 32-race Grand Prix that will consist of 16 Teams of two. The first eight teams were automatically selected for the events:_

 _Mario and Luigi_

 _Bowser and Bowser Jr._

 _Wario and Waluigi_

 _Peach and Daisy_

 _Yoshi and Birdo_

 _Toad and Toadette_

 _Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong_

 _Koopa Troopa and Koopa Paratroopa._

 _The other eight teams will go towards the public and will be selected; these teams are to be decided by January 10, 2015(1) in which the 32 races will be announced as well, that is my trial._

 _Most Horrible Regards._

 _[Bowser's Signature]_

 _The Rightful King of the Mushroom Kingdom._

"Are you coming Tom?" Donkey Kong arrived to the vehicle, which collapsed and fell off of the Mushroom City Bridge onto the ground below. Tom travelled back into the Fiat and they drove off.

"I have some bad news." Tom uttered as the two exited Mushroom city via the bottom left exit of the bridge. Tom re-read the envelope and then handed it over to Donkey Kong; Tom opened his door and jumped out just after pulling it in to be closed.

"Somebody's in a hurry." Donkey Kong laughed as he stopped his car at a traffic light. He opened the envelope and started to read the text on the page. The traffic light went green and Donkey Kong turned to the left and drove out of the city. He put the vehicle on auto-pilot and started to read the text.

"Mother-fucking Bowser, I knew it." He glanced at the page and noticed that he and his supposed nephew are competing on the same team, and also on the same vehicle. "I got to warn the family. They might want to sign up as well." Donkey Kong turned another right and drove onto a motorway. He saw several Toads and Koopas driving trucks and blue cars, all advertising the new brands that came in May. Varying from Bowser Oil, Lemmy's Tires, Iggy's Glasses, Morton Building Construction, Larry Lights to name a few. Donkey Kong groaned every time he noticed a sign on each truck. He thought in his head 'Why do they get to invest in something where I, Bowser's right hand Ape, get nothing?'

He parked his car on a side of the end of a road which then continued towards the Northern Mountains, he ran into a green forest to the right of the road which happened to be known as DK Jungle to the people. He swung across a rope and landed in front of his 'bigger-on-the-inside' home in which most of his family lives in. The Kong family were munching on a giant banana which was chopped up into pieces for each to eat; Donkey Kong had arrived home from 'work' and sat by the table. He was given a plate and a slice of a giant banana within a few seconds by his family who had not uttered a word since his arrival.

"How was today?" Wrinkly Kong asked politely as Donkey Kong slouched on his chair.

"It was cancelled." He moaned. "I also found this today; Bowser's finally came up with his event." He handed it over to Cranky Kong who read it vaguely.

"Double Dash Tournament, 16 Tag-teams, 32 races! All of his money left as the prize!" Cranky Kong laughed as he showed it to the others. "Donkey and Diddy have to play."

"Oh crikey!" Funky Kong laughed in amazement. "I really want to be part of this!" His eagerness made Cranky Kong happy as well.

"Eight guaranteed teams, and eight teams for sign-ups, I suppose you and I should go, Funky? What do you say to that?" He asked. Funky Kong jumped out of his seat and started practicing some dance moves by the table.

"That's not all, no matter what happens Bowser will still be dealt with." Donkey Kong moaned as he further slouched on his chair, wishing he could do something about it but still was not bothered. "We will go into poverty." Everybody gasped as he uttered those words out onto the dinner table.

"This is the end!" Diddy Kong shrieked.

"We must win, nephew." Donkey replied.

"No worries Donk, if you don't win, we could win as well!" Cranky Kong laughed. "It will be fine, isn't that right Funky?" He turned around to notice that he was still dancing.

"Err, yeah!" Funky Kong stopped dancing and pounced back onto his chair.

"I might hit the hay early guys – I feel as if I need some shut-eye due to what's happened today." Donkey Kong left the room while the rest of the family dug into a giant banana that was served right after he left the room. He travelled up a few tree logs and climbed into his barrel-shaped bedroom on top of four twenty-metre wooden sticks which were placed below a lake, before he went to bed, he glanced at the Toad-industrialised track known as DK Jungle; he peeked at the giant red flower and noticed several tyre marks on the leaves. He thought to himself that he didn't want the track to exist. He turned around and noticed the wooden bridge to his left with several dead plants that he always loved to look at. He shook his head rapidly and went into his banana-shaped hammock, beginning to recall today's events in his head, he had remembered the time at 10:30AM in the morning he was forced to quit his job due to Bowser's entire empire being ceased according to the Three allied kingdoms – Wuhu, Delfino and The Mushroom Kingdom. He witnessed the Mushroom Nations gather in the Tri-Border conference hall by the border of the Three Kingdoms. Donkey Kong called them Kingdoms but theoretically they are considered as districts by the majority of the people living in them. He remembered making the depressed face when The Three Districts and One... Recovering District in which many Toads do not even know had existed. Ever since February 2010(2) the Kingdom of Résethal which is currently recovering from its 17-year long riots that began in 1993(115). Having lost a 75% vote of the Kingdoms, Bowser has lost all of his supposed chances of staying free. Having the First Koopa Minister of Résethal, Koopan Haluka voting against the future of Bowser, The District of Résethal is hated by many people, including citizens living on its coastal towns such as the soon-to-be fortified Town of Urscan. Donkey Kong fears that the District of Résethal will become independent from the lands leaving no choice but to be named 'The Republic of Muhino.' However, within a few seconds Donkey Kong fell solid asleep.

It was almost one in the morning on January 6, 2015(1) according to the Koopa Calendar – a stone had been thrown into the room hitting Donkey Kong's hand, waking him up.

"Sweet Bananas!" He howled as he woke up. Thankfully, he did not wake up anyone nearby; he got out of his bed and peeked out of his barrel bedroom. He saw no sign of any life within his vision, but hidden from his sight was two humans both looking at him.

"Why are we trying to wake him up, may I ask?" One of the humans asked the other as quietly as he could, but it was loud enough for Donkey Kong to notice the two in the distance. He spotted unusual brown hair beside a bush, which made him assume that one of the humans was Tom.

"We need to tell him what will happen to Bowser." Tom replied to the other human while trying to be as quiet as he could.

"Tom?" Donkey Kong called out, questioning him. He jumped over to the lake stack that the two somehow managed to be on.

"You _are_ awake." Tom replied to Donkey Kong, trying not to answer anything he is going to say.

"Why are you here? Is that Enrique?" He noticed the other human's blonde hair and rather similar face to a woman that Donkey Kong had met around 7 years during a kart tourney.

"I was called from the 'real' world to return here." The human – who is Enrique, replied with a monotone voice.

"We're here to tell you important news to tell you about Bowser." Tom explains to Donkey Kong, the three begin to hear rustling bushes to their right, behind the giant red flower.

"What's happening to the lord?" Donkey Kong anxiously prayed for the answer.

"It turns out to be that Bowser is-." The three turn to see a very young Koopa on the edge of the course, who suddenly slipped and fell into the lake.

"Help! Help!" Enrique jumped into the river and swam over towards the Koopa; he lifted him up and rescued him ashore. Tom jumped over to the mainland and dashed around the lake while Donkey Kong climbed vines and reached the other side much quicker than Tom did.

"Which Koopa are you supposed to be?" Enrique scarily shouted at the Koopa who started shivering.

"Leave him, Enrique!" Tom shoved him out of the way as Donkey Kong walked over to the Koopa.

"Short red hair, red shell? Koopak III what in the stars are you here for? You were meant to be back in Noki Bay!" Donkey Kong stuttered loudly at the Koopa.

"I couldn't get out of Koopak II's extra suitcase and he took it with him." He shrieked while he got up and sat comfortably on the grass.

"That's not good at all, the carers won't be happy either." Donkey Kong recalled an event in which he had once visited Noki Bay in the Delfino District in 2002(57), just after Bowser was exiled from Isle Delfino, and by that he meant the whole Island, not just the areas in which he saw Mario come across in Mario's adventures there, but the whole island, which is about a fifth of the Delfino district size but half of the population live on the island.

"Hold on a minute." Tom walked back over to the Koopa. "Wait – you're Koopak III? Since when did Koopak II have a son? He never told me he had you when I saved him and Bowser back at Wuhu Island!" He complained at the Koopa while he turned around and threw some grass into the lake.

"I guess I was not to be told to the world." He replied quietly.

"Like an accident?" Donkey Kong questioned.

"Like his father." Tom laughed.

"Well, I don't care if I am an accident or not! I am an Asquia and you know it!" He shouted as he kept turning around and looking at the trees.

"He's like his grandfather." Enrique whispered to Tom while he walked over to the trees. He walked around the edge of the lake and stood in the middle of the bridge-part of the track, and then he started strolling along the track, losing contact with Tom and the others.

"Koopak, why are you here anyway? As in DK Jungle." Tom asked the Koopa after watching Enrique leave his vision.

"The Toad Police are chasing after me." The Koopa replied. "Apparently any Asquia is banned from entering the Mushroom District, my dad took a Bowser-supporting rival of Galaxy Air, known as the Koopa Airlines, since the Airport was right at the border, and he left his second suitcase at the airport." He continued lecturing. "It was the one with me in it, so I had to escape the suitcase and I took a Taxi to Mushroom City under the name Koopak Lewis."

"What made you get here?" Tom hesitated as if he was bored of what Koopak was saying.

"With my dad going to North Delfino, and me in Mushroom City, the police spotted my taxi and chased me, I jumped out at the intersection bridge, little did I know that the car crashed after I got out-.

"Hold on a minute – that car that crashed was the taxi that you were in?" Tom butted in after getting up from the edge of the lake.

"Yes! Yes! Were you there?" Koopak asked Tom while peeking behind a tree.

"I was there a while after you were – the person in the vehicle is safe, but when I was there the so called taxi looked like a lorry." He assumed as he started walking around the area.

"Yeah." The Koopa replied.

"Lemmy's Tires, a Taxi? Oh dear." Tom worried. "This isn't good, Koopak, they're chasing you because they know you're an Asquia. You need to get out of this district – they will kill you!" He dashed to the left towards the bridge. "DK! Koopak! We need Enrique, wherever he has gone." The three started jogging along the race track looking for Enrique. They all jumped across the ramps before crossing the giant banana. They stopped as they realised that the track turned to the right and slanted upwards.

"I don't remember this." Koopak looked at the slant. Tom had spotted Enrique who was on the other side of the giant temple room.

"Enrique? How did you get here?" Tom asked as Enrique stared at the Banana.

"This slant is impossible to get across unless you have the anti-gravity karts." Donkey Kong pointed out as he looked at the blonde human on the other side of the room.

"I just... Somehow... Got here." Enrique struggled to even say a word. He gasped as he turned to the right. "I don't think the Tiki Statues like me."

"Why are you there?" Donkey Kong called out. Tom tried to climb up the slant; he turned at Koopak and picked him up.

"What are you doing to me?" He screamed. "I am an Asquia! Put me down!" Tom threw Koopak onto a small post that was on the edge of the slant. He stood up on the right side of the post and then jumped and slid down the slant on the other side.

"Smart thinking." Koopak III laughed as he randomly changed his emotion from cowering in dear and anger to being amused by the plan Tom had just made. Enrique walked over to him without uttering a word.

"Enrique, why are you over there?" Tom asked again.

"What made him go over there anyway?" Donkey Kong whispered to Tom.

"I don't know." He replied. Enrique still had not said anything after he had problems uttering a word. He picked up Koopak by his shell which made him unable to grab any part of Enrique. Without saying anything he walked over to the edge of the track, below the four was a black pit that nobody could see the bottom of.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" Koopak shouted.

"Enrique? Enrique. Put down Koopak. SAFE ON THE GROUND!" Tom slapped his head and complained at him while he stood by the edge.

"Asquia?" Enrique finally spoke out.

"Put him down!" Donkey Kong risked his life by jumping across the considered-to-be-bottomless pit. Luckily, he landed on Enrique's body and pushing him and Koopak III out of the way and onto the centre of the track right next to the Banana.

"What are you doing Enrique?" Tom complained from the other side of the room. Enrique ignored him and threw a punch at Donkey Kong sending him to the floor; he ignored Koopak too, who was complaining at him as well. He dived from the edge and fell into the other half of the lake. Donkey Kong crawled over to the edge and searched for him, he couldn't find Enrique in sight.

"He's disappeared." Donkey Kong walked over to Tom.

"Can I get round by any chance?" He complained.

"Go around."

"The ramps."

"Dive down!" Donkey Kong suggested. "You might find him." Koopak walked over to the edge and jumped down into the other half of the lake. Donkey Kong jumped down too and made a giant splash in the water, without realising that somebody else was watching the two.

"Did you see a human?" Another Kong's voice echoed across the land.

"Funky? I did." Donkey Kong replied. Funky Kong jumped down into the lake.

"He was blonde, like that criminal." He warned Donkey Kong as he swam over to him, Koopak III was by the shore lying down about to fall asleep.

"You mean Enrique?" He wondered.

"Yeah."

"But he saved The Fourth District?"

"As well."

"That is one corrupt person."

"Corrupt?" Funky Kong started laughing as he said that word. "I would've described him as strange, but corrupt? He's not like Rosa's bro."

"But he's doing weird stuff."

"He's sitting on the fence that determines which side you're on."

"I guess." The two Kongs swim back to shore and carried the sleeping Koopak back to Donkey Kong's barrel house.

"Are you sure he's safe here?" Funky Kong asked Donkey Kong.

"Yes, I'm sure of it. Go back to your bedroom and sleep, we'll discuss in the morning." Donkey Kong went into his bed and Funky Kong left the room...

At around half-two in the morning, another stone hit Donkey Kong's head – while he was sleeping.

"Habudada!" He shouted a word that he heard in one of his dreams. He shot up and banged his head accidently on the roof of his barrel-shaped house. "Tom?" He called out as he spotted him after turning to the right.

"I have Enrique." Tom pointed over towards another blonde human wrapped in rope and cosmic duct tape attached across his mouth.

"Kjo është një përvojë ë dhimbshme që edhe unë gjej bezdisshëm." Enrique mumbled as he shook his head.

"Whatever that means." Donkey Kong groaned as he sat by the edge of the wooden platform that the barrel sat on. "I don't want any massacre again." He turned around and stomped back into his bedroom. Tom stood on the grass and watched Enrique lie down on the floor acting rather bored. As he stared back at Donkey Kong's barrel, he too sat down onto the floor and watched Donkey Kong eventually come out of the bedroom.

"Can we go back to Mushroom City?" He pleaded as he crept out of the barrel, paying lots of attention to Koopak III who was sleeping on the floor. He climbed across the vines which led him to the forest behind the giant flower. Tom dragged Enrique along the road and they took a detour through the woods to exit DK Jungle.

"Whuh huh wuh gohuh." Enrique mumbled again as they reached a massive grassland plain which surrounded a road which went from Mushroom City to the Southwest Kingdom of Beanbean, near the Delfino Border.

"Mushroom City." Tom replied to Enrique as he threw him into the boot of Donkey Kong's parked car. Tom and Donkey Kong got into the Fiat stolen from the 'real' world and turned left to travel back into Mushroom City. They drove four-hundred metres before entering the city and arrived at the bridge, as they changed lanes to travel past the top right exit of the bridge, they spotted somebody riding a kart. By the looks of it Tom had assumed that the creature was riding the Nitrocycle, he then noticed that the creature wore a blue hooded cape and had goggles wrapped on his head. The creature entered the lane next to the others and they drove along the road together.

"Kamek?" Donkey Kong spoke out to him. The creature slowed down to keep in pace of the vehicle that the others were in.

"Kong?" He replied. "The games are in a week a bit, better start practicing!" He giggled while noticing Tom next to Donkey Kong on the right of the vehicle. The two vehicles slowed down by some traffic lights.

"You choose to be part of it then?" Tom croaked while hitting his neck. "Apologies."

"Yep, getting all of the experience from Dry." Kamek turned ahead and watched the traffic light turn red. "Who's this human then? A real-worlder? I wonder if Rosa brought him here." He turned to Donkey Kong expecting an answer.

"Err." He was speechless.

"Yes, she did bring me here, five years ago." Tom explained. "I'm Tom Tûnis; I was first brought here in 2010, taught by the 'authoritarian' princesses on saving the riots in Résethal." He continued after taking a few breaths. "Now I wish I never helped them."

"It was brave of you to do it." Donkey Kong spoke to Tom. "What you did was a very brave task, but if it was given by Bowser to do the opposite, you would be favoured by even more people."

"What do you mean?" Tom looked confused.

"In a nutshell." Kamek explained. "More people support Bowser than you think, and the people beyond The North (if there is any) might support him too."

"Are you saying many people in Mushroom City, Toad Town, Toad Harbour, there are people who secretly support him?" Tom wondered as he stared forward. He noticed that the traffic lights had remained red.

"But there are some people who love Peach more than Mario does." Kamek pointed out.

"Ata nuk duan që ju të shkoni." Enrique groaned from the boot of the car.

"Is that a human in the back?" Kamek questioned the two.

"Yes, its Enrique, he needed to shut up a bit." Tom covered up the story.

"Alright – what's with the traffic lights?" Kamek moaned.

"Just go." Tom pointed out as Donkey Kong put his foot down and the vehicles accelerated. As they raced down the lane the traffic lights suddenly skipped amber and turned green, several Toad Patrol vehicles chased after the rest.

"Circuit!" Tom shouted to the two. "Keep going!" The three drove their vehicles past the other large cars and sped ahead of them, several police cars began driving by their tails. Enrique started bashing the back door of the car, trying to escape. Tom unclipped his seatbelt and climbed behind the car seats and spotted Enrique without duct tape on his mouth and ropes only sealing his legs together, he had full grip with his hands and started punching the window. He created several cracks in the window just before Tom had approached him, falling into the boot of the car as well.

"Are you out of your mind Enrique?" Tom shouted at him as Donkey Kong made a quick-turn up to the bridge.

"Sorry about that!" Donkey Kong shouted. "I'm not used to karting tracks while driving a one-and-a-half-tonne car."

"Whatever – keep driving." Tom ordered as he spotted several Toad Patrol vehicles at least ten metres from the Fiat, several Toads and Koopas got out several Toad Pistol Prototypes and started firing at the window, the glass of the window was broken and bullets started flying in. Donkey Kong ducked and kept driving. Kamek turned around again and took the short-cut, but never came out of the other end.

"They took Kamek!" Donkey Kong shouted as he took an off-track detour and drove through the main part of the city. Tom started punching Enrique as he managed to get the ropes off of his legs.

"What are you doing?" Tom tried to hold Enrique, who hadn't uttered a word since he spoke in Old Koopish. Unfortunately, he manoeuvred around Tom and got him into a headlock.

"So easy how I've managed to speak the language." Enrique shoved Tom onto a seat and jumped out of the window, going to land in front of the police car, but because of its fast speed he crashed through the Patrol's car window. Tom turned around and jumped into the seat next to the driver's.

"He's in their car now." Tom informed Donkey Kong as they suddenly appeared speechless as more Patrol cars arrived in front of them.

"We're screwed." Donkey Kong stomped on the brakes and turned left. Enrique, after breaking in to the swerving police car, flew out of the car's right window and flew downwards down stairs into the Mushroom Kingdom Underground, he rolled down the stairs and slipped onto a train, which then closed doors and sped underground to another part of the city.

"What are the chances of that?" One of the elderly Toad's on the train laughed as Tom became the centre of attention.

"No fucking idea." Enrique replied...

...

"Attention Donkey Kong. We have you surrounded! Get out of your car, and put your hands up or we will fire!" One of the Toads pointed his pistol at the car. Donkey Kong got out of the vehicle and raised his front graspers in the air. He was handcuffed and put into the same Patrol car as Kamek.

"What happened to you?" Donkey Kong asked. "Were you surrounded?" Kamek took a deep breath.

"The vehicle slipped and I got caught." He answered in depression.

"Still need improvement then." Donkey Kong laughed as he noticed no Patrol members were in the car.

"That's if we're allowed to get into the games." Kamek pointed out.  
"Bowser will think up of something, it was in his orders that Peach accepted, some phony Patrol cannot ruin it for him." Donkey Kong thought as the Patrol members entered the vehicle.

The vehicle had driven off through the streets while Donkey Kong began to sweat excessively. While Kamek kept looking out of the window, Donkey Kong tried rubbing of the sweat from his fat furry head.

"Where are we going? Why are we held captive?" Kamek requested to the Toad Patrol members at the front of the car, after he spoke, they closed the gap between Kamek and Donkey Kong, and the Toad Patrol members. "Harsh much." He stated again, still no answer.

"Where is Tom?" Kamek spoke to Donkey Kong as he took a deep breath and looked down. He looked up again and took another deep breath.

"He is the luckiest bugger in the world – I accidently put my foot down on the breaks and turned left to stop as the Patrol cars were surrounding me. Enrique, without his seatbelt on, fell out of the car and rolled down onto the underground, I guess he managed to get onto a train and escape safely." Donkey Kong explained with a depressed face.

"Seems possible, but without magic? Improbable." Kamek thought as the vehicle started speeding ahead as they turned to the left along Toad Town high-street.

"What's going here?" Donkey Kong looked out of the window, little did he realise that the windows were slowly unwinding up automatically, he had to put his head back inside the vehicle and looked out of the window. He could hear sliding as the car quickly drifted through the lanes, several car horns beeped quietly as the vehicle sped fast. Kamek tried getting out of the vehicle but the doors automatically locked. Donkey Kong head-butted the window and made a large crack.

"No way out?" Kamek asked Donkey Kong as he tried budging the door. "Apart from the windows."

"There's always a crack in that god-forsaken reflection." Donkey Kong laughed as he broke the window glass.

"God?" Kamek seemed confused.

"Never mind." Donkey Kong replied. "Seat belts off now." He and Kamek began to undo their seatbelts, but they didn't seem to open.

"They're jammed!" Kamek screamed loudly as he tried using ways to get off of the seatbelt.

"The Patrol wouldn't do this." Donkey Kong bashed the seat he was on.

"Why would Peach do this?" Kamek thought.

"She might have turned a little eerie maybe."

"Let's just get out!" Donkey Kong roared as giant bright light flashed ahead and the car started to pull breaks. Three cars simultaneously exploded but caused no injuries or casualties. The Patrol members exited their vehicle and investigated the scene. Donkey Kong and Kamek tried getting out of the vehicle but were unable to.

"I cannot believe we're missing this!" Donkey Kong moaned and barging the door. Luckily, a familiar human ran out of the underground station of central Toad Town and rushed over to Donkey Kong and Kamek. It was Tom; he grabbed parts of the door and pulled it off. He got out a Swiss Army Knife that was given to him five years ago.

"Quickly! Out!" He cut the seat belts and led the two out of the crime scene. The three headed down an alley way and went through a pipe which led to the sewers. They travelled along a drain line for about a kilometre south of the city, Tom busted a door and the three arrived to another rather familiar place, in the sewers...

"It's Enrique's business again." Tom mentioned as he crept along the sides of the rushing waters that led to a waterfall – surrounded by blocks and ramps. "Stay here for a while; we'll be safe here for a while." Tom sat down as the three reached a part of the area that was a rather large and was almost all dry. Kamek inspected the large area and remembered racing here once in his practices. Donkey Kong, remembering this place than both of the two, sat down by a sewer entrance to moisturise his furry skin.

"Why are the Patrol after us?" Kamek wondered, expecting Tom to have an answer, at this time he was thinking in his head of reasons that the Patrol are after the three.

"I believe Peach is up to this, I feel as if she wants Donkey Kong to be held captive due to his partnership with Bowser, it's similar to the fact that they were after all of the Asquias, I believe any high-status Koopa Houses. So that's people like the Asquias." Tom began to list rich Koopa families.

"They'd probably be after the Jautjas – Koopol. McShells, Koops, Koopie and Kooper, and maybe any other high-status families, Troopas, Koopas, Koopexes, Rushes, Lakitus, Fonavans; you guys have heard of these families? The ones associated with Bowser?" Tom asked the other two.

"They might be after the Calaghals too." Donkey Kong laughed, making Tom make a sigh.

"You are actually technically right, they might find the Humans too, but the only 'so-called' evil humans or non-Mushroom Kingdom followers are me, Enrique, Marrec, Rosalina and her brother, so not a lot of _them_ will be found."

"What about the twins? And your friends?" Kamek asked.

"Ah, those too." Tom replied.

"Who is Marrec?" Donkey Kong questioned.

"He's the bartender of The Old Bluetoad Inn in Vurduresa, The Fat Goomba Pub in Castelia, The Eastern Cape in Urscan and The Asquia's Astonishment in Aypyidaw."

"Oh yeah, see I wasn't in Résethal for those years, some of the people who I worked with never knew it existed."

"Just like the company." Tom mouthed while looking at Kamek.

"So" Kamek explained. "In my view, Patrol members want us to be arrested like the others, all of the Bowser-supporters. And they'll send us to Peach, who wants us to be either imprisoned or to serve the Princesses."

"That's possible, I feel as if the Koopas would make a flowchart on the 'Koopa Future Theory' and see what everyone else thinks." Tom wondered. He got up and peeked into the distance, he saw a dead Piranha Plant that's corpse still remained above the pipe. "These gruel Toads – didn't feed the Piranha Plant after the Anti-gravity games. And they say the Koopas are the bad ones." Tom proceeded on while Kamek and Donkey Kong got up and followed him.

"This is Piranha Plant Pipeway?" Kamek wondered.

"Yes indeed, used in the seventh games and the eighth again, only to be no longer used, unless it might be used during the games." Tom thought.

"Dry and I are going to be in those games, we might be Tag-Team 9." Kamek stated. "Are you going to be in the games Tom?" Tom stood still for a while; stuck in deep thought of how to explain the answer he was going to say.

"Well." He uttered quietly. "If I was to be in it, the only person who I might be able to go with is Enrique. I'm not sure if he will be up for it and maybe I might not be up for it. I have never been able to go karting. Especially with all of the items, in the 'real' world we have these kart facilities but we do not have items, accelerated speeds, flying coins and most of the things that you include in your ones.

"Can I go to the real world?" Kamek asked Tom.

"Well, may I explain?" Tom replied reluctantly.

"Yeah go ahead!" Kamek said with an eager face.

"The most common answer you would hear from any human around here is a definite No. Firstly, you wouldn't fit in there, magic doesn't exist either, so you can't use your wand. Secondly, they have more advanced technology besides magic, Sniper Rifles that can kill 31 people with one bullet, aircrafts that don't." He paused. "Have pieces sticking out peculiarly. Thirdly, the 'real' world is full of humans, no Toads, no Koopas, no Goombas. And lastly, the few times in which you people went into the real world was in the 1990s. When the Toad's thought that the Koopalings were Bowser's offspring. Kooky Von Koopa, Cheatsy and Bully Koopa took a really young child to your world, luckily that child was Enrique. The Koopalings also massacred some parts of the world, besides that you aren't probably allowed."

"That sucks." Kamek groaned as his eyebrows dropped.

"It's true." Donkey Kong interrupted. "Because of the amount of human visitors, by amount I mean just around six, Marrec, Tom, Enrique, Jaapayo, Jack and Ronald; they have made difficult access to each world, you need the qualifications, the test results and permission from at least ten of the sixteen feminists."

"You mean princesses, but yeah." Tom noticed. "It is tough."

"I will get there someday." Kamek wished as he exited the Piranha Plant Underground. Tom and Donkey Kong immediately ventured forth with them.

"We made it out of the Pipeway, and we made it away from the Patrol, we need to know what happened to Enrique and see who else will participate during the games." Donkey Kong warned the others as they walked past the finish line and climbed over the fences.

"Yep, I might join the games; anything left of Bowser's would be rather entertaining for... Thousands of years!" Tom burst into laughing just before a bright, luminous flashlight shun over the three.

"It's sure is great to see you three."

 **EOC: 7,500 Words? That's amazing – even this much detail per chapter, there'd still be tons of chapters soon to come. It would be great if you readers would post a review or favourite this story that would be great so I can see how I'm progressing**

 **There's plenty of Trivia that relate to the other fanfics, The NSF and VMRR fanfics do not have much references as the others as they are not in the same setting and period.**

 **R &R!**


	2. Toadbert and Toadsworth

Fighting In the Streets

Chapter 2 – Toadbert and Toadsworth

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Nintendo belongings.**

 **A/N: STOP! True readers don't skip ahead, if not done yet, read the first chapter and if you haven't even read the other origin fanfics and speed dials, do so, this wouldn't make sense otherwise.**

 **(2017 Update) Alternatively, go ahead if you have looked at my profile or are interested regardless. Pay attention to date and times.**

 **As of now this fanfic will be updated with a new chapter roughly once every fortnight-month. I have written 8 so far so I will have time to keep a lead going.**

 **Enough with the aggravation Enjoy!**

 _January 5, 2015 (1) Koopa Calendar: 10:27PM_

 _Kalinka: Northeast Mushroom City. A quiet settlement with a hotel for Enrique to rest for the night._

Calling...

"Bzzt!"

"Whoa? SMASH!" The phone kept ringing, and after several positions of trying to get the bedcovers off of him, he stood up and answered the phone.

"The person who is calling me: I will hang up unless your reason satisfies me." He stated to the person on the other side of the phone call.

"Pipe." The person who called him mentioned to him as he hung up and sat on his bed. He grabbed his glass of water by his bed side table and splashed it in his face, causing a mess but for his benefit.

"Bzzt!" It rang again as he answered it again.

"Competition?" The same person suggested another word, but once again he hung up.

"Bzzt!" He answered it one last time.

"Bowser?" He stopped. "Tom?" He asked. "Is he dead?"

The phone hung up after a few seconds of silence after Enrique last talked to Tom.

"Bzzt!" Enrique picked up the phone and shouted through it.

"SPEAK!" He shouted.

"Not yet." Tom replied and then lectured on. "His last wish was the sixteen-tag-team double dash tourney, thirty-two races, and one winner. Eight teams were open to others, while the other eight were obligatorily assigned to the main important people, like the Mario brothers. Want to give it ago? The prize is Bowser's leftovers!"

"Let's talk on the right side of this, Cinema car park?" Enrique suggested meeting up there.

"I was just there! I'll be on my way." Tom groaned as he ended the call.

...

 _10:35PM_

Tom had walked back to the car park after leaving Donkey Kong at an incident at the centre of the Mushroom City bridge, after phoning Enrique about the tourney, he wishes to speak to him at the same place he met Donkey Kong that day, the Cinema car park, which was used as a Bingo Place for the elderly citizens of Mushroom City and Toad Town.

He stood next to a lamp-post on his phone pretending to browse the internet but actually to occupy himself as Enrique arrives to make himself look less awkward standing in the middle of the area.

Enrique eventually came four minutes later. He came from the southern side of the car park, which is the least likely place for him to arrive from as it is next to the woods to the south of Mushroom City.

"What's that thing in your hand? The message?" Enrique pointed at the paper in Tom's hand, which was the first thing he noticed. "Browsing nothing again?" He also questioned.

"No. It is the message." Answering to both things that Enrique asked, in the wrong order, Tom replied. He handed the paper over to Enrique as he opened it up.

"These people worked together in the fourth official series, right?"

"I think so." Tom walked over towards Enrique.

"The 'Rightful King' is second on the list?" He questioned again.

"Look, I don't know why Bowser would do that!" Tom groaned all of a sudden.

"Was it Bowser who wrote it though?" Enrique questioned. "Conspiracy? Could it be the corrupt Peach who wrote and signed it as close to what Bowser would do?" Tom face palmed.

"It does have Bowser's signature though." Tom mentioned.

"True."

"We need to see someone with this maybe?" He suggested.

"Who exactly could, whenever we show it to somebody they'd want to sign up."

"Well, we might as well sign up now and reserve ourselves a place in order to do so."

"Yeah, I'll take this to Peach and prove so, as well as signing up." Tom stopped Enrique before he started strolling off.

"We will go together my friend; I'm not losing you again." Tom spoke.

"Very well then." The two strolled through the city and headed off through the streets. While walking through the busy roads during this hour, they were being stared at by each and every Koopa, Toad, Goomba and other species that dwelled in the city.

"Yes it's us, and what?" Enrique shouted at all of them.

"I think you need to go to the castle." One of the Toads warned the two as they stopped.

"Of course we are going there! Why else would we? To kill the princess?" Enrique made Tom start laughing.  
"Yeah, if we wanted to we could do it." Tom offended the Toads around him.

"Abort joke then." Enrique shoved Tom as the two resumed proceeding to the castle. As they arrived they commented on how it had its doors opened and the fact that Koopas and Toads kept leaving the place but none of them went inwards. As the two entered through the doors of the castle, at least three of the Toads who were leaving stopped, one of them got out his phone.

"They're coming." He called the princess.

"The assholes?" Peach replied with a croaky voice as she drank some champagne. "Tell them to come to my dorm." The Toad ignored what Peach said and let the two figures find it out themselves; they were obviously going to her dormitory anyway.

After a minute there was a knock and then a bash on the upper-upper floor entrance.

"Watch this Tom." Enrique smiled.

"My princess, they've arrived." Toadsworth, inside the room as well as Peach and Toadbert mentioned to the princess.

"Call 'em in." She ordered as Toadsworth crept up to the door and let the two in, Enrique charged into the room and then slowly stopped as he noticed the mess Peach was in, her dress was tattered and she was drinking an alcoholic beverage which she would never do directly in the presence of Toads.

"What the fuck?" Enrique tried to keep a straight face and started giggling.

"That thought's in my head too." Toadbert laughed as Peach looked behind and noticed him.

"You're a mess?" Enrique, taking no thought into consideration about the fact Peach had a greater status than him, complained.

"So what! Bowser's going to die! We might as well celebrate!" She slipped and fell onto a fancy lamp on a table.

"Not exactly princess"- Tom was interrupted by Enrique with a much more detrimental complaint.

"16-1 that is Peach." Enrique raged. "And in fact, did he actually write this? Or is it your works." Enrique threw the paper with the message over to Peach. She opened it up and started reading on.

"What?" Peach began to act very impulsive. "HE'S DOING THIS? And besides, why would _I_ put the Mario brothers first and me fourth? It was obviously him, AND HE CAN SURVIVE? Toadsworth! The rulebook! Tell me he can't find a way to survive out of his decisions..." Toadsworth began to read a manual about the rules of what the Mushroom Kingdom's enemies can do.

"He can." Toadsworth stated. "You never wrote this down when you could." Peach punched a wall to show how raged she was at the moment.

"Have more!" Enrique rushed over to Peach in anger and slapped her rapidly in the face.

"Why are you angry Enrique? He can survive you know." Tom asked.

"I know that, it's the fact that she is a mess and thinks that Bowser will die." Enrique started laughing sarcastically.

"He probably would though." Tom wondered. "The odds are 16-1."

"I don't think so, the chances of him winning are around 3-1, Mario and Luigi 2-1, Peach and Daisy I'd say 4-1."

"Bitch!" Peach moaned.

"I'd guess Donkey and Diddy, 6-1, Wario and Waluigi: 6-1, Yoshi and Birdo: 8-1, Toad and Toadette: 10-1, and the Koopas: 16-1." Enrique carried on as Toadbert and Toadsworth looked at each other in amazement.

"What about us?" Tom wondered.

"Can you drive in the real world?" Enrique wondered.

"Yes? Can you?"

"Yes, the chances of us winning? I'd say... Nil. We're the lowest, I can tell, we've never karted before."

"I actually karted a bit."

"When?"

"About 5 years ago."

"I'm lost." Peach wondered as she almost threw up.

"Just get your shit together, princess." Tom cleaned the dirt off of her dress.

"Thanks Tom, I thought we had it planned ahead, but I didn't know there was a chance of him surviving, but I don't mind the winnings." Peach sat down on a sofa worrying about what has yet to come as she drank more champagne.

"Now come on princess, you've a city to run." Enrique walked over towards the window of the castle, with a perfect visibility he could see the Toads and Koopas walking around the street in madness. He spotted a microphone by the window which he knew Peach used to broadcast messages across the City.

"Attention Koopas, Toads and other. Your princess has realised how stupid she was within these past few days and will be running the lands as to be expected." Enrique leaved the microphone and walked over to the rest inside the upper-upper level room. "I declare that Tom and I should be signed up to this double dash tournament, and since you have the most power in the lands now, it's your choice on whether us two will be allowed to participate."

"It shouldn't be up to me, it's open to the public!" Peach laughed. "But Bowser will get the message that you two will be officially declared on the list." As she spoke again, Toadbert and Toadsworth were immediately intrigued about the tournament.

"Sign up us too!" The two Toads shouted with happiness.

"I guess that's two extra teams settled." Peach smiled as she walked over to the window to look at her city once more. She looked up to the black sky to look at the stars, but some of the stars started to fade and reappear, it was only then she noticed that something, or someone was lurking about on a ship.

"Objection!" The voice shouted from the ship, which then revealed its colour to the public and to the others inside. "The assignments are to ME!"

"Can we go mysterious Koopa?" Toadbert requested.

"Err, have these two good racers?" The figure revealed itself on the ship, it was Bowser.

"No, Daddy, let them in." Bowser Jr's unique voice whispered to Bowser.

"Yes!" Bowser jumped in excitement. "An easy tag-team of opponents."

 _9\. Toadbert and Toadsworth._

"Bowser! You are not allowed in this Kingdom!" Peach screamed from the room as she opened the window. She started to spot incoming clouds in the night sky heading towards the castle.

"Oh yeah! It doesn't say in the rulebook!" Bowser pointed towards the book in Toadsworth's hand.

"Page 57, Paragraph 4, read for me Toadsworth!" Peach pretended to act smart.

"Any Koopa with the surnames of 'Asquia, Jautja, Koopa, Troopa, Koopex, Rush, Fonavan, Lakitu' is strictly restrained from entering the Mushroom Kingdom, oppose this rule and the Koopa will be sentenced with 2 KoopaYears in jail." Toadsworth read out, embarrassing Peach as she ran over to look at the manual.

"I didn't declare it with the Toad council? That they were now to be killed?" Peach ran in circles in a tantrum.

"Ha-ha." Bowser and his son burst into laughter. "Looks like I can."

"But you can't commit various crimes or it's execution for you, immediately." Toadsworth stated.

"For me that is!" Bowser stomped on his ship as three Kamikaze Koopas with white shells invaded the room; they each hid in their shells and drifted through the room, smashing every ornament in sight. Toadbert and Toadsworth started climbing the walls of the room, Bowser jumped into the castle because of the open window and grabbed Peach as she started to run away, Tom and Enrique were focused on avoiding the white shells. But Bowser quickly jumped back onto his ship with Peach and headed off. After a while the white shells drifted out of the castle and crashed on the slanted walls of the castle. Toadbert and Toadsworth climbed down from the walls and examined the broken items, including her father's ashes.

"Another one bites the dust." Toadbert cried as he looked at the ashes on the ground.

"I forgot to ask Bowser to sign up." Tom groaned. "Enrique, why did we forget?" There was no reply. "Enrique?" He was missing from the room, Tom exited the room and started rushing through the hallways of the castle, and he spotted several Toads rushing from room to room, not able to stop screaming. "Enrique!" He shouted as he exited the castle and headed off into the Mushroom City, the capital...

"Lord Bowser!" Hammer Bro requested to speak to Bowser.

"Yes mister?" He replied reluctantly.

"I didn't get to appear in the sixth tourney, can I in this one? With Fire?" He asked politely, Bowser stopped and thought in his head.

Easy opponents, the more of them, the easier it shall be.

"Very well, you two are assigned to Team 10." Bowser eventually replied.

 _10\. Hammer Bro and Fire Bro._

"Yay! Your money is ours!" The two brothers left Bowser's eyesight making him think again.

"But it won't be, my money is mine, as it should rightfully be."

"Daddy, what are we going to do with the princess?" Bowser Jr asks.

"King Dad, I think we should boil her up like what everybody else says about'chu. Then we can use our army to conquer the lands!" Roy, who was also in the room suggested.

"We lack Koopas though." Bowser pointed out.

"King Dad?" Bowser Jr questioned Roy about why he called Bowser that.

"What?" He looked back at Bowser Jr in confusion.

"Never mind." Bowser Jr confused Roy.

"We should make _me_ the Queen of the Kingdoms, and make her feel sorry for me!" Wendy guessed.

"NO!" Every other Koopaling and Peach replied with an unusually loud voice.

"We can kill her Dad, and improvise what happens." Larry asked Bowser.

"I'd get executed and with the Toad's rise of technology, you know, anti-gravity, you eight cannot survive without me if your choices are as bizarre as what you all said." Bowser stated.

"Mario!" Peach screamed inside a cage.

"Shut up human!" Ludwig shook the cage in anger.

"I'm surprised Bigmouth over here hasn't said anything yet." He looked at Morton, who had Koopa duct tape round his mouth.

"Mmmm! Mmm!" Morton mumbled acting like an annoyance.

"You're welcome King Dad." Roy laughed.

"Let's leave her here for now, and then we'll decide after the tournament." Bowser proclaimed.

"Let us in King Dad! Me and Bigmouth can race better than most of the people who're gonna be in the tourney."

"Yeah, Larry and I could be in it too!" Ludwig agreed.

"Us too!" Iggy and Lemmy with their high-pitched voices screamed in excitement.

"Daddy!" Wendy screamed. "I want a sister!" She screamed again.

"Exactly, you're not allowed because it's against the rules, I'd be executed. And besides, who would Wendy go with?" Bowser questioned.

"He could go with me Daddy." Bowser Jr looked at Wendy, who grinned back at him.

"And who am I to go with? My skeletal form? He's gone now, should've been replaced by Petey." Bowser rejected the ideas as he began to slouch on his throne seat.

"King Dad, wait for them Mario brothers to come along, then we'll see what's in store for us." Roy walked up to Bowser with a smile on his face.

"That's a good idea Roy, instead of making many fail-of-a-plans, why don't the Mario brothers do what they choose to then they can come and rescue the princess without help!" Bowser smiled back at Roy who seemed anxious.

"That wasn't a joke right, King Dad?"

"Of course it is!" Bowser knocked Roy on his round head. "I want this tournament to resume, but I do not want this Toadstool interrupting every decision we make! Kooky?"

"Yes King Dad?" Ludwig replied with his unusual voice as he walked over towards Bowser.

"Get the bounty hunters and bring them to me! The rest of you, go to the volcano at Wuhu and configure the remains of the star-pipsqueak's brother's devices, make it so that the lousy Toadstool over here did it." Bowser commanded as Ludwig saluted him back and hitchhiked a tiny Bowser ship and left his sight.

"King Dad? Why do you need those two?" Larry wondered.

"They love to sit on both sides; they spent time working for this Toadstool, now they'd rather like to work for me." Bowser laughed and Peach gasped in fear.

"They'll never turn to you!" Peach shouted, the Koopalings reacted and shook the cage, making Peach slip and fall.

"Oh they will." Bowser yawned. "Cheatsy! Go with him!" He took a nap as Larry left the room.

"What will we do with the Princess?" Roy asked the others.

"Leave her here, his loss if she escapes." Wendy looked at Peach. "Eww, that makeup is disgusting!" She looked at Peach and commented on her look, without taking notice of the events she has been put through in the past few hours.

"This isn't what I look like!" She groaned back to Wendy.

"I guess Iggy and Lemmy have already disappeared." Roy stated as he left the room.

"I'll stay here!" Bowser Jr shouted to the others. "I don't want anything going bad with Dad."

"Exactly, what you said was a b-brilliant idea, only you, the true son no born at the same time must guard his father, the King! So Peach will not escape!" Morton rapidly spoke out, making Roy strangely happy.

"Thirty words, new record!" Roy shouted from another room of the dungeon...

...

 _12:10AM – Mushroom City_

Ludwig met with Larry and travelled across the Metropolis of Mushroom City, sneaking across the alleyways, trying not to interact with any Toads. They rushed to turn through another dark alleyway until the two bumped into a tiny Koopa who was rushing around for the same reasons as the two.

"Ludwig, Larry? Don't worry it's only me." The Koopa squeaked. Larry and Ludwig got up from the floor and noticed the Koopa who got up as well.

"Who are you?" Larry asked as he crept over to the Koopa.

"Koopak, three!" He squeaked again. "I'm in trouble with the princess because of my father and grandfather."

"He betrayed King Dad! Get him!" Ludwig and Larry chased Koopak around the alleyways of the city, sliding across the floor and stomping on the puddles that lay on the stinky corners on their way. Koopak jumped up and climbed up a sewage pipe on the walls of the tall buildings, little did he realise that it was the Toad Brigade Headquarters building. Ludwig and Larry started climbing up the pipe, Ludwig climbed rapidly first and caught Koopak at the top, he climbed a little more and noticed Toads and Koopas working inside the building on computers, Ludwig looked at the Toad working to the closest computer and he looked back at Ludwig, his eyes remained normal as he carried on working and then soon enlarged as he jumped out of his chair and told the others working in the room to look at Ludwig.

"Larry! I don't want to jump down!" Ludwig kept climbing up the building with Larry beginning to climb higher too as Toads spotted him and was at the bottom of the sewage pipe.

"Keep going Ludwig! They're chasing me up!" Larry climbed and noticed glass falling down the building as a window was shattered by the Toad Brigade.

"I am not letting you two go!" The lead Toad started climbing up for Larry and Ludwig. Ludwig eventually reached the top of the building and laid Koopak III on the floor and jumped across the building roofs. Larry soon followed but Koopak was surrounded by the brigade, he dashed out of the way and climbed down the houses, with Koopas and Toads chasing him out of the city. Unfortunately, there were only two buildings that Ludwig could jump across which were the one he was on and the one he is on. He and Larry stopped and got surrounded by the brigade.

"The Toad here!" The Toad spoke out to Larry and Ludwig as they were handcuffed. "Peach would be so happy if she saw this, the two best Koopalings caught by us!"

 _1 HOUR LATER..._

"Mister Ludwig von Koopa, come with me please." A Toad Brigade member grabbed the handcuffed Koopa and dragged him into questioning; there he saw an unusual blue-shelled Koopa wearing a pair of sunglasses inside a tiny room.

"So, mister Koopa." He started as the door closed, leaving the two inside the windowless room. "I must say there are more Koopas with the surname Koopa than there are Koopexes, Jautjas and Asquias put together. Though many of them aren't related to you, after the riots all we know is that Martin Koopa, Rhys Koopa, Bethel and Andrea Koopa are left alive, besides you nine." He carried on as Ludwig started counting.

"Tell me, why are you here?" He asked.

"Well." Ludwig began. "With my honest opinion, I was here with Larry to make you guys get the bounty-hunters as if Peach wants them, Bowser wants the two to work for them, my honest opinion is that he wants them for the tourney."

"The tourney?" The Koopa shrieked as he heard what Ludwig just said. "I know! I am not allowed to go in it because I haven't got anybody to go with me, I mean, Koopie's married somebody and went to Noki Bay for the month, Kooper's busy repairing the Wuhu Town, Koopol's in jail and Koopak's missing."

"Which Koopak? Can I ask your name?" Eagerly, Ludwig brightened up and asked for questions.

"The name's Koops McShell, and what do you mean, which Koopak?" He replied after taking off the sunglasses. Ludwig shrugged his shoulders. "Bah I'm kidding with you, the second Koopak, ever since the terrorism at Wuhu Island; he left us and went into the shadows, now I need the machine to calculate your charges, and it won't be long."

 _ANOTHER HOUR LATER..._

"Alright, you are sentenced to five weeks behind bars and a fine of 30,000 Mushroom Pounds to pay off. Ludwig reacted and grabbed Koops' knee.

"Listen man, my Dad needs to get the bounty hunters, if you can get them for me and drop my charges for _existing_ in the kingdom I will help you find another person who can race with you!" Koops lets go of Ludwig and forced him onto the table.

"If I drop your charges and get Bowser the bounty hunters, you will let me into the tourney?" Ludwig hi-fived Koops as the two exited the room. Larry stared at Ludwig and stood up.

"Do I need to come in?" He asked.

"No need, charges are dropped, for all of you! I will contact the Brigade to hunt them down-." Koops received a message through his earpiece, unsurprisingly from the brigade.

" _Agent McShell, we have Enrique in the city, we also spot a concerning vehicle containing an ape and a human."_ He gasped and rushed out of the city with Ludwig and Larry right behind him. Ludwig and Larry both realised who the people who were in the vehicle as they exited the city and spotted the vehicle speeding through the city.

"Get them!" Koops ordered some Toads of the Brigade to chase after them in Patrol vehicles. Koops, Larry and Ludwig headed over to a normal vehicle and drove behind the Patrol Vehicles.

...

Having chased them for ages, the Patrol had eventually caught Enrique who attempted to escape on a train, after being chased around he found himself beaten and lying on the front of a Patrol car, having been beaten he lay in front of a large amount of vehicles, unconscious. Koops and the Toad Patrol had him surrounded, without any possible action including escaping. He was finally recovered when brought into the Toad hospital near the castle, they were ought to be going back to Peach's castle in Toad Town after Enrique was questioned.

They shoved him onto a chair as he opened his bloodshot eyes, quickly tying his arms to the chair. After having light shine on his head, Koops, Ludwig, Larry and several other Toads, stood right beside Enrique as he got up.

"W-whoa! Božidar it's too bright in-, wait." Enrique glanced as he reacted vigorously, acting berserk as he tried to jump out of his seat, scaring some of the Patrol. Larry slammed his fist onto the table next to the chair and started speaking.

"Where's Tom?" Larry shouted in his face, forcing him to squint.

"Kjo është vepër e tyre." Enrique secretly replied, Larry stood back and Ludwig nodded.

"Çfarë bënë ata?" Ludwig asked in the same language, Enrique thought for a moment before replying.

"Ata rrëzuan mua! Nuk jam i sigurt në lidhje me Tom, ndoshta shpëtoi." He replied, Larry and Ludwig had thought for a moment as well. The Toad Patrol hadn't understood a word of what they were saying, but even if they could, they would still be the ones to blame. Ludwig turned and stared at the patrol with a frown.

"It appears that the loss of Tom is the Patrol's doing, this is according to Enrique." Ludwig explained to Koops and the rest of the Patrol members in the room.

"Does he know where Tom is?" One of the Patrols asked Ludwig. "They are friends."

"No he doesn't." Ludwig replied.

"He may have escaped with the Ape." Enrique butted in. "And Kamek too."

"Wait a minute." Larry sat down with a thought in his head, analysing paths around Mushroom City. "I recall my Dad with a sheet of the racetracks used; Piranha Plant Pipeway is at least 100 metres from Mushroom City. If you go through the sewers you'll eventually get to the Plains next to the Piranha Plant sector."

"The Donut Plains." Ludwig remarked.

"No that's far; it was the farmland that is home to multiple refugees, Moo Moo Farm!" Larry head-butted the wall in stress after realising several ideas had arrived in his mind.

"What's good about that?" Ludwig asked.

"The most hated Koopa in the land is on his way to Moo Moo Farm." Larry sat onto a chair next to Enrique.

"Explain!" Ludwig and Koops shouted at Larry.

"Moo Moo Farm is a tax-free settlement of the Mushroom Kingdom – The Cow incidents in Season 6 and 8 came to an agreement where the farm changed design and added shops, so the only place where you can buy important adult necessities without influence of the Princess besides Mushroom Airport, Sunshine Airport and Polia. The likeliest of places he would go is through Moo Moo Farm, he is banned from Airports due to the restraining order." Several Toads became lost but Koops and Ludwig glared at Larry for more information. "He wants to go to Résethal, specifically far north to escape Bowser AND Peach and to get out of the public."

"In a Nutshell please?" A Toad asked politely.

"Koopak II is in the Mushroom Kingdom..."

 _He woke up in a dark room, without seeing anything or reacting to the surroundings, his eyes hid away from a bright flash of lights which allowed him to see. Bowser lay in chains in the centre of a carnival tent. He stared ahead to spot the three of the many people he hated the most. Peach sat on a giant throne-like chair, with Luigi and Koopak II on seats next to her. He spotted crowds full of boo-ing Koopas and Toads with negative facial expressions. He spotted Bowser Jr and seven Koopalings trapped in Cages, and Donkey Kong, Tom, Enrique and Zane tied to ropes, hung dead._

" _What happened?" Bowser roared across the room._

" _YOU LOST!" Peach laughed loudly revealing scores of the Double-Dash Tourney, Bowser gasped in horror and examined the crowd once more, he noticed several Koopas and Toads looking upwards, Mario stood on a diving board._

" _JUMP!" Peach screamed with laughter as Mario jumped from the diving board._

" _NO!" Bowser shouted._

"NO!" He shouted again, waking himself up and breathing a little bit of fire. He heard tiny footsteps followed by two pairs of stomping.

"King Dad?" Roy entered the room after Wendy yet before Morton. Surprisingly, Peach was still in her cage. Bowser stared at the three Koopalings in embarrassment.

"Nothing." He lied and worried at the same time, looking in all directions, he soon started to sweat as well as look nervous.

"He had a bad dream." Peach mocked Bowser.

"Shut up Toad's tool!" Morton insulted Peach. "How dare you insult the authority of the Lord Father? You..."

"I thought it was a good insult, but this just ruined it." Roy whispered to Wendy, who nodded back in agreement.

"...never should've given King Koopa this idea you scoundrel! I've never..." Morton eventually finished after upsetting _everybody_ in the room.

"I need to speak with King Dad; can you get Bigmouth over here and 'Toad's tool' out of the room?" Wendy hugged Roy as she towed the cage (on wheels) and carried Morton out of the room.

"...worst Princess in the lands! Even Princess..." Morton continued.

"Alright Morton let's go find something to do." Wendy dragged him out of the room.

"...ever! Hello?" Morton seemed confused as the two left the room.

"Argh, Morton was never my favourite." Bowser slouched in his chair, awaiting a speech from Roy.

"Err, King Dad?"

"Yes, Bully?" Roy crept closer to Bowser in anxiety.

"Err, why is this happening? I thought we were going to take over the land." He asked Bowser.

"Well, sometimes when two sides are at war, allies tend to help the side that is in the right." Roy gasped as he wanted more information; he seemed very upset after Bowser's short statement.

"Basically, ever since the start I had a slight feeling that I was in the wrong, but when your grandfather passed away, I got so annoyed that I felt like getting my revenge, eventually to capture Princess Peach to annoy the Mushroom Kingdom. To put this perspective, I will tell you the whole story; the time for you to know about your past shall eventually unfold."

"Do I get to know who my mother is?" Roy questioned in eagerness. Bowser reacted with a quick answer.

"No. Anyway, in the 1990s, a good friend of me called Johannas Asquia."

"Asquia?"

"Koopak I's uncle."

"Ah I understand now, I think I've got a gist of that family tree."

"Anyway, he lied to me that the Mushroom Kingdom was to declare war on the Résethal Kingdom, I told my dad about it because I didn't want the empire to perish to Toads. He decided to declare war on the Mushroom Kingdom with the aid of Résethal, due to the amount of hate they've received from the Mushroom Kingdom in the past. Soon, because my father and I had no idea what side was in the right, a massive war began in the North due to the rise of the Mushroom citizens, turning on the land due to their decision to aid my father."

"Were you going to die?" Roy asked in the most polite way possible.

"My father did, during the process of the war, and so did the Princess's families, I avenged your grandfather's death after he was killed by a Toad. I've been put in exile ever since and wanted my revenge by killing all of the Princesses."

"What about Wuhu and Delfino?" Roy questioned once again.

"They supported the Mushroom Kingdom due to the unintentional invasion of the Résethal."

"What's the agreement in the land today?"

"Worse."

"No!"

"It's basically us, by us I mean the family and the few Koopas that still serve us – against the 'Mushroom Kingdom', 'The Delfino District', 'The Wuhu District' and 'The North' (being Résethal). They're a democracy now because the two new humans seized the riots. The double-dash tourney is the only way I can survive, that's if I win it. Another reason why I'm not letting you in the tournament is if you win, I die!"

"Is this why you want the humans?"

"I want them on a team..."

...

 _January 5, 2015 (1) 11:30AM earlier that day_

Half a landscape away, in the Wuhu District western shore, a city rebuilding itself, two specific Koopas wearing sunglasses strolled through the overcrowded city of Wuhu Town. They were heading for the port, shipping off back to the Mushroom Kingdom, then onto Bowser's castle, lasting approximately 32 hours.

"It appears Bowser wants us to play, but I don't want him to die. It's compulsory." Paratroopa strolled out of the main part of the Town whilst reading the sheet of paper which was printed around 6 times. The same letter which was discovered by Tom.

"We are going to work together and beat him – It's theoretically a win-win situation, we don't die and I can finally take a break from working for him." Koopa Troopa boarded a boat after Paratroopa climbed on soon after. "Toad Harbour please." He spoke to the Shy Guy pilot.

"The tournament?" The Red Shy Guy asked Koopa Troopa as he started the boat. "I am pairing with Lakitu for it, hopefully able to race since we're experienced twice." Eventually Koopa Troopa realised that it was _the_ Shy Guy, who was pairing with Lakitu and also waiting for approval by Bowser.

"Oh it's you! Hey there, take us to the Kingdom please." Paratroopa asked as he walked up to the roof of the boat and watch the Wuhu Island disappear through the foggy atmosphere. Unlike the usual sunny days in southwest Wuhu, it was a rather freezing cold day with a side of fog, the speedboat soon turned into the mainland to travel down a river which split the border between Wuhu and Delfino. As the boat sped through the ghostly aisle, Paratroopa went back into the inside of the speedboat and sat down with Koopa Troopa. Sitting awkwardly, they awaited to speak.

"So, where's Lakitu?" Koopa Troopa whispered to Shy Guy as he looked around the edges of the river, they seemed mossy and started lurking about. "And where are we going?" He quickly reacted as lights began flashing from underwater as they went through a tunnel, where lights on the walls began to shine.

"He said he was waiting in the Mushroom Kingdom for approval for him and me to get into the tourney, then we're going to Bowser's Castle to get his approval, then we will find the humans." Shy Guy replied while passing through the tunnel.

"The humans, I thought that they were friends with the Mario brothers." Paratroopa butted in accidently. "Oh yeah, they said they didn't cease the riots for them. Where are they?" Shy Guy couldn't find an answer.

"I am not so sure on that one, we last heard of them at Mushroom City, Enrique (surprisingly) was captured, but Tom managed to escape with Kamek and Donkey Kong."

"Kamek?" Koopa Troopa gasped. "He said he was going with Dry Bones." Rubbing off the ash and dust from his face when they entered the tunnel, they eventually slowed down as they accessed the supposed end of the line according to the Koopas, the way out closed on them and water began to fill up, rising the boat.

"We're about a fortieth of the way there, we need to travel for a few hundred-more miles to get to the East Delfino drop, we're in the western one, and then about 150 miles to Mushroom City." Shy Guy explained as they rose to the surface. The boat rapidly sped out of the tunnel and began travelling through the river. Koopa Troopa awkwardly began to speak again.

"So, this is going to take a while. How far have we travelled statistically?" He asked.

"Well, it is a total of 12 miles out of 477 here. So I would recommend sleeping, we'd arrive at the Mushroom Kingdom by morning, and another 128 miles to Bowser's castle, so mid morning there." Koopa Troopa sobbed as he lied down.

"Couldn't we just take the pipes?" He moaned, making crazy sounds after.

"We're unsure if any correct pipe in Wuhu can lead us there." Shy Guy replied as he looked behind to notice Paratroopa asleep.

"I am going to be so tired today." He spoke to himself.

 _MEANWHILE... – 3:20AM_

Enrique woke up inside the same dark room after falling asleep, trapped in the same position, the lights flashed on and Ludwig walked into the room from the same entrance, with an awkward grin on his face.

"Why am I still here?" In his most convincing voice, Enrique asked.

"What I want to know is." He took a breath. "Why _are you_ still here?" Enrique seemed very confused.

"No sense to me." He spoke again.

"Listen, I'm putting you on the team list, whenever I get a chance to find my Dad. The most important thing about it is. Are you willing to do your worst to save Bowser?" Explaining an irrelevant answer, he freed Enrique from the trap and guided him into another room of the Toad Patrol headquarters.

"An important question upon another question, which is also important." Enrique replied without answering, but instead giving him another question, he rubbed his eyes from the build-up of dust by his eyelids. "The thing is, the reward is more demanding to me, and I didn't want to fight for the Princesses..."

"Go on."

"It's a bit lengthy, about the Nintendo conspiracy. I have a deep confession to make."

"What is it?"

"When I was a kid, my grandfather had to bring the family to Brooklyn for work, he and his wife wanted somebody to babysit me, and believe it or not, the Mario brothers appeared out of nowhere to babysit me.

"What's this meant to prove?"

"Let me finish and you'll understand! What I realised is that they came through a pipe in my house, I went through it in a game of hide and seek and appeared in this land. Though it was a life-threatening experience, I dreamed of coming back." Ludwig backed away from Enrique, with his hand on his forehead, remembering that day in the 90s.

"Oh fuck. That day was not good. I got beaten that day by King Dad."

"Exactly, it was you that almost killed the Mario brothers, you almost killed me too. I chose you over them but you tricked me." Enrique charged over to Ludwig and shoved him and pushed him to the floor. Ludwig tried to get up quickly but Enrique held him down. "You ruined the opportunity; I could've kept those riots until I saw you. I didn't fight for the Princesses with pride. But you blew the moment!"

"Enrique, I'm sorry, I didn't know that child was you, get off of me please! I'll sort something out!" Ludwig cried in agony, Enrique pressured his shoulder, giving him extreme pain.

"Trapped me and the brothers! I hate them too! I wanted to join you! I felt like being your 'friend'." Whilst pressuring, he rubbed the feeling into Ludwig.

"Please! I'll do anything!" Ludwig screamed loudly, which luckily made Enrique stop. "I don't want to hurt you. The opportunity is now."

"What's the point? I hate you now!" Enrique sat down on the floor of the empty room.

"Listen, any one thing I'll grant you. I just don't want you to kill me; you're the only human I know who's powerful enough to." Ludwig sat against the wall, next to Enrique, who kept looking straight. "Anything you want." Enrique finally replied. "For Tom and I to do our best in the tourney..."

Ludwig remained silent.

"It's what I want."

"What if he wins?" Ludwig silenced Enrique. But after about half a minute of undisrupted silence, he finally replied. "If he wins, I will remain my role in your hierarchy or perhaps work for him, he needs what he wants."

"What if you don't win?" Ludwig questioned Enrique.

"The correct question would be what if Bowser doesn't win? If I didn't win, Bowser might not win." He replied. "If he doesn't win, I know that Bowser will not survive the execution, he will die, and I will resign my status of this land and leave the lands, back to my real world." Ludwig remained speechless for a while and walked over to the wall of the room.

"I know for a fact Enrique that you won't be killed by Peach, you did your work for her, and I know Bowser will not kill you either, you're doing work for him, but I will accept your offer and inform Bowser as quickly as I can." He led Enrique out of the room and they proceeded to the roof of the Toad Brigade Headquarters. They stood on the edge glancing around the corrupted city without a leader. They spotted many fires in the distance and wondered how quick it took the Toads and Koopa-citizens to realise their fate without Peach, they also saw Koopa Troop soldiers and Toad Brigade fighters together, attempting to restore this city, Peach's number two, Toad himself was absent along with Toadette in the west, so the Mushroom District lay in the hands of its citizens.

"Where's Peach now, Bowser's?" Enrique asked Ludwig as he turned around and free-walked around the roof.

"I think so, but he cannot do anything for her." Enrique sat on the edge of the roof and got out a notepad he kept in his left pocket and started writing down current locations of the people he knew about.

"Ludwig, Tom escaped somewhere with Donkey Kong and Kamek. What do we have to do now?" He asked as Ludwig started to walk back to Enrique.

"We need to know the locations of the current 16 candidates, as well as the future second group of 16 candidates for the tourney. Bowser and Jr we know where they are, Mario brothers – not sure where they are, Peach 'n Daisy... Daisy's at her castle or somewhere with Luigi, Wario and Waluigi are at their shack, Yoshi and Birdo, probably at their house, Toad and Toadette – absent, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa are on their way here. Donkey Kong is missing, but Diddy is at his home."

"One more thing." Enrique said to Ludwig.

"What's that?" Ludwig replied.

"I'm not racing if Koopak II is." He said intriguingly, Ludwig stopped without anything to say.

"I do not know if Koopak II will race, he has very little experience, though one hundred percent eligible, you can speak to Bowser once you get to his domain." Enrique walked over to Ludwig who turned around at him.

"Tom can wait, but I want to go now..." Enrique left the room heading towards the underground station. "I will be back at the castle tomorrow!" He yelled from across the walkway to Ludwig.

High up in the mountains where wind speeds were at its highest, Morton stood on the balcony of Bowser's mountain outpost some few kilometres from his domain. The landscape was a plateau, being flat at the top of the massive mountain range splitting the North from the rest, the height above sea reached 4km and temperatures were negative. It was also snowing, but the torch flames by the outpost melted any snow that fell against it. Koopas guarded every corner of the outpost willing to defend it from any attackers, but this time out of many there wasn't somebody willing to attack, though somebody willing to talk. Koopas noticed a figure in the distance, a brownish human-like figure with the height of just taller than Luigi's, slowly proceeding towards the outpost.

"I come in peace! It took me 12 days to get here, 12 DAYS!" The male voice called from below.

"What brings you here? Human." Morton questioned from the top.

"I seek refuge for I have been sent to talk to Bowser." The man replied short of breath, soon fainting to the soft snow. Morton seemed rather confused and ordered Koopas to take him into the outpost.

"I know this man, Bowser told me about him years ago, and a time he went south for an event." He opened the outpost gate and the man proceeded inwards. Surrounded by Koopas he was as he stopped in the centre of a large room lit by torches, the light in the room darkened significantly as the door closed.

"No light or no heat is the question." Morton spoke out loud to everybody but primarily to the human. "Ever since Bowser's been targeted by the Kingdoms, all of our power being ran from the mains in Résethal got cut, thus the only source of light for us is the sun or these torches. Our lights are switched off; we lose contact with Bowser and the rest very frequently due to using his own unstable connection from the Castle." The human paid as much attention as he could.

"I've witnessed it all down there." He replied. "So many changes since the riots were ceased, but it didn't help make me find Bowser."

"No worries, he has been expecting you for such a long time you both feel as bad for not seeing each other." Morton pointed out.

"Suppose any way I could get to the Castle from here?

"Yes, it's quite difficult however, why didn't you go via other routes?"

"Well, Toad Harbour doesn't permit routes Northwards to the Koopa City Bay, and Résethal's route is covered in sea mines, very difficult to overcome, the safest way was to go from the top of the mountain range."

"When did you set off then?"

"I've lost track, but days ago, around 12."

"You're safe inside the Kingdom of Bowser now; this outpost has a cable car which can get you directly down the East Mountain Edge straight to the city."

"That's great! Send me off as soon as you can."

"Well..." Morton worried. "Our Cable Car runs on Bowser's network, very unstable." The human had sighed.

"Just operate it as best you may, I don't want to waste more time on this, especially before the tournament begins." Morton agreed with him.

"Very well."

 **EOC: Note that there's plenty of Trivia and references to other fanfics, so read the others now if you haven't (By the others im only advising origins and Speed Dials)**

 **Note that this chapter was finished in January 2015.**

 **2017 UPDATE: This is ready to be uploaded upon the proper non-preview release of this fanfic. Also check my profile for lore and information for things you may not know about. Also if you have any questions or things to ask give a review of PM me and I'll respond as quickly as i can.**


	3. GalaxyAir

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 3 – GalaxyAir

 **A/N: There will be one of these in every chapter, but the main reason for this one is that it contains the most references to past fanfics. So I still advise you to read them or at least understand them before pressing onward from here.**

 **Even though I never had MKDD, I still play MKW in 2015 so it helps me with this fanfic, and occasionally MK8.**

 **Anyways, Enjoy!**

 **(End of 2017 Update – MKW only if MrBean does a stream)**

 **Wuhu Mainland Airport - January 2, 2015 (1)**

Sunshine.

The red-shelled Koopa slid over to the nearest table to eat his lunch he had just bought, where a female Koopa with a blue shell who knew him was also eating. He glanced around looking for any security in his vision, hoping not to be seen. The girl on the other side of the table began to speak.

"So I will call you Koopol, even though you're Koopak?" She asked while munching on a near-finished cheeseburger.

"Koopol is who you will call me as until we fly to the northeast, after going into Sunshine Airport, which is due to take off in 20, we should hurry up." He gnawed down the last remains of his sandwich and shot up wiping his hands. "Jeanette there's no time to lose."

"Look, I organised this all for the sake of you, we go at our needed pace." As soon as she finished her sentence loud speakers echoed across the hall.

"FLIGHT M486 TO SUNSHINE AIRPORT TAKE OFF EARLY DUE TO CONSERVATION OF FUEL, IT WILL TAKE OFF IN 5 MINUTES." The Koopa turned towards Jeanette with an 'I told you so' face. The two Koopas walked over towards the M Terminal of airport, queuing up to show the passports to the immigration officer. Jeanette's passport check lasted approximately 5 seconds but she turned around and watched Koopak wait at the passport control box. The officer kept switching focus between the passport picture of Koopol Jautja and Koopak's face, Koopak also kept looking at Jeanette, trying to remain calm. The officer finally spoke.

"When's my birthday?" She asked whilst reading Koopol's birthday – which was February 19, 1987.

"Feb 19." He replied. The officer giggled silently and insignificantly and handed the passport back to him.

"Have a good flight, Koopak." She said as Koopak walked away towards Jeanette, he turned around, looking at the officer who was looking at the next person's passport whilst attempting to phone somebody. He then turned around again and Jeanette started walking with him. Koopak brisk walked through the tunnel and onto the jet bridge of the plane, but he was halted by the flight steward at the front of the plane, Jeanette silently crept around Koopak while he was under suspicion. With caution he asked why he was halted. The steward only replied with a "You are under suspicion". Koopak groaned as the aeroplane door closed and the jet plane separated from the actual aeroplane. This seemed rather confusing for Koopak because from it he gathered that he was staying on the plane.

"What's the problem with him?" Jeanette turned around and questioned the flight steward.

"From what the cabin crew have gathered this man here is the one and only Koopak Asquia II." The flight steward replied maintaining his facial expression.

"Cabin crew? You haven't moved since you saw this man, who is called Koopole Jautta."

Whilst Koopak looked away from the steward he started to make himself seem more convincing. "Whatever it is you suspect I am you are wrong, now I am going to walk toward my seat, sit on the seat and remain seated until this plane lands at Sunshine Airport!" He stormed down the aisle with sweat racing down his body surface, Jeanette soon followed. The two sat down on row U seats 1 and 2, Koopak sighed as he looked out of the plane window. Jeanette glanced up and looked at the other Koopas and Toads on the plane, noticing some of them staring at the two in their seats; she awkwardly looked away in anxiety. Soon before turning back to Koopak, who never gave her a chance to speak.

"Koopole Jautta? Who's that?" He whispered loudly, attracting more passengers on the plane.

"I'm not good at remembering things to be honest – though if you lowered your voice you wouldn't have attracted so many people to listen in to this conversation – about what presents we will buy for the man?" Jeanette changed the topic quickly, stopping the passengers from listening. Koopak groaned and looked out of the window again.

"How long's the flight then?" Koopak asked to keep the conversation going. "Best not drag it all about suspicion then."

"It is 90 minutes to Sunshine Airport and our next flight from the meadows to Aypyidaw is around 4 hours." Koopak slammed his fists on the arms of the seat, he was in stress. "What happened to you today?" She asked in the politest manner.

"Is beyond the North really worth it for me?

"Consider yourself lucky." She spoke. "Imagine the situation your father is currently in."

 **The Plane takes off…**

 **Sirenna Beach Immigration Centre, Sirenna – January 4, 2015 (1) – 6:57PM**

Two boats filled with various Koopas, Toads, Goombas and even humans tied up landed ashore, several Toads escorted the immigrants from all over the land into buildings around the centre, the humans however, were kept on the boat and the Immigration Officer along with a few other workers approached them. The three humans were chained to the back of the main boat, with tags attached them with where they were originally. The head officer started to question them.

"You three 'Castelians?' is that the word? Weren't supposed to board the ship, coincidentally, we're also lacking a guard on this ship, if we do not get answers to either the lost guard or the reason you're on this ship we'll have to deport you back to Castelia." He demanded as all three humans shrugged their shoulders and looked around senseless.

"We were to board this ship like any other minors..." The centre brown-skinned human, with 'R. Rodriguez' written by his name tag, replied indirectly.

"He's right." The left human agreed. "The ships went from Castelia, to Urscan and err."

"It's like, northeast Mushroom district, and begins with an S." The right human, with 'T. Jones', written on the name tag.

"S huh?" The head officer laughed. "Sirenna Beach?"

"Yes, definitely!" The left human, with 'G. Martin' on his name tag spoke out, then realising they arrived at Sirenna Beach. "Oh, fuck."

"To the left lads!" Ronald, Rodriguez ordered the humans to charge leftwards inside the boat and downstairs into the control room.

"Get 'em!" The officer shouted as the Toads charged into the interior part of the boat, but the control room was quickly locked and sealed. The Toads began bashing on the door.

"I'm so surprised you managed to lock a door with your mouth, Ronald!" Toby Jones, laughed.

"Much obliged, now let's get us out of these tied ropes!" Ronald shouted as he grabbed an implement on the table, by sitting on the table, and began cutting his own rope. The sound of another pointing gun alerted the three as they turned around to notice another human in hiding.

"Oh jeez, you guys shocked me for a minute there." The other human worried as they turned around.

"It's good to see you here to ha-ha." They all tried to break off their ropes. Toby kicked the captain's chair towards the door, being constantly bashed. After Ronald managed to tear off the ropes, he managed to cut the other two's ropes much faster. He then leaped over towards his nearest window and started breaking it.

The door busted open and guards pointed at them with guns.

"Uncategorised humans do not actually have rights you know." The head officer aimed the gun at Ronald, George Martin, the other human and Toby Jones raised their hands up in the air, but Ronald ignored the Toad officer and jumped out of the broken window, several bullets were shot at the window and near Ronald, but no successful shots, a few of the guards looked out of the window and aimed their guns against the water surface. But Ronald was nowhere to be seen.

"We should've never trusted him." Toby said to George as they were escorted out of the ship.

"You can say a lot more when you are taken to court you two." The head officer mentioned.

Ronald, after about two hours and a sunset, eventually reached a shore able to exit the sea. He crawled across the sand, just being able to do that, he got out his phone and received a call.

"Jack." Ronald said, sounding half-asleep.

"Status report?" A loud voice came out of the other side of the call. Ronald sighed.

"Bad news, the officers have George and Toby, Luke went missing, and I've had to swim for hours reaching a shoreline. What's next?" He waited for a response from Jack.

"You need to go undercover as a resident in Moo Moo Meadows, once the target arrives there; you need to take him discretely."

"Right." Ronald ended the call and fell asleep in the woods next to the beach. Jack put the phone down and got up from the seat he was in and left the room. There was a knock on his door and Jack went to answer it, but before doing so he noticed out the window there was a group of armed Toad brigade soldiers pointing guns outside of the room, he then rushed towards a carpet in one room of the house. He moved it aside and there was a hatch where he escaped the house and moved the carpet back again at the front door was busted. His basement was full of torn books, notes, and deciphered texts of Old Koopish. And a large broken mirror where he could see himself and the tattered clothes he has been wearing consistently for the past few weeks. He blocked up the hatch entrance with the tallest shelves in the basement. Additionally, one of the walls of the basement was broken and destroyed, opening up to the Résethal Metro line, though many hundreds of metres from the nearest station. He took one of the deciphered texts he had on the table and went through the passage to the Metro line. While waiting for a train to pass, he could hear footsteps and aggressive dialogue from the floor above.

"I know this guy! He's another human crook!"

"Like the two workin' for the princesses?" He heard a slap in the face.

"They don't do that anymore, they work alone and they wanna kill the new menace of these lands!"

"So this guy's workin' with them?"

"All of them are, they wanna kill Koopak and his family, which are also called Koopak." Jack started to notice a light from the next Metro train going to go by.

"Why? Why would they?"

"Because he has MONEY." The train zoomed by and Jack jumped on to the rocks by the rails and ran towards the next station. The phone started to ring again, but it was from the Head Mushroom Police department prisoner phones.

"Who's this? I don't know anybody behind bars here." Jack said

"It's me, Zane." Jack stopped for a second, and then ran off of the track.

"Oh yeah, I forgot they caught you in the end, what's in it for you if Bowser loses then?" He asked.

"Bowser loses what?" He replied seeming confused.

"Oh." Jack sighed. "The Double Dash Tournament? The one with 16 teams and 32 racers, Bowser's last request. If Bowser loses he dies, and they say peace will come to the lands."

"Mate while I'm still standing there ain't gonna be any peace around here." Zane joked.

"Hah, why'd you call then?" Jack laughed.

"Oh yeah, Marrec is gonna bail me and once I get out again we'll meet up at t'castle and find out what Peach is gonna do with Koopak. Sound good?" Jack noticed the crowd of citizens staring at him in a circle. He looked at them all looking confused.

"Yeah cool, one second – What? I'm not like a spy or anything! Jeez." The crowd turned away and ignored Jack. "Anyway yeah we'll get there in time for the games, they start in 5 days, you gonna sign up? There are 8 partnerships for the public."

"Err, I'll have to say no to that I'm not gonna join just to deliberately lose for Bowser… Is there a reward?"

"Yeah there is actually."

"What's that?"

"Bowser's leftover coins." Zane gasped.

"No, no way, I'm not gonna do that, I'll turn corrupt." He said.

"Alright then, talk to ya soon." Jack laughed.

"Alright see ya." He put the phone down and walked back to his cell, being escorted by the Police Guards, as well as being in cuffs.

His cell had a monochrome wall, used for silencing the use of magic in his cell. He sat on the brick bed that he had to sleep on and stared out of the window, seeing the mountains splitting the districts. After taking a couple of breaths, more guards came over to the cell to escort him yet again out of prison.

Jack walked over to the times of the Metro trains, hoping for a quick route straight to the Mushroom District.

 **3 min – Urscan Station (R) – P8**

 **5 min – North Wuhu Port via Aypyidaw (W) – P2**

 **11 min – Mushroom City (M) – P6**

 **15 min – Sirenna Beach (M) – P7**

 **18 min – Dargo Station (R) – P1**

Jack then got another phone call whilst walking to the sixth platform. Reaching out for his phone, small groups of Koopas and Toads started to stare at him discretely.

"Where are you?" The female voice from the other side of the phone line questioned immediately.

"Where _are you_?" Jack, implying that it is Rosalina, asked back.

"It's kind of difficult to interpret, but where are you is the question." She replied.

"I'm about to hop onto the Metro to Mushroom City, I'll lodge somewhere there for the next few days, you sure Tom's there?" He said back, noticing the Koopa's staring at him. He started to brisk walk towards the platform quickly trying to avoid direct eye contact with them.

"Yeah, he needs you to give the deciphered text to Cranky Kong, he might be able to trace it to its owner, and we need to take care with anybody else who has association with Bowser or any of the Asquias." She exclaimed. Jack noticed a large, Red-shelled Koopa glaring at him, who was also on the phone to somebody. The train had eventually arrived at the station and Jack boarded it, sitting on his own on the next-to-empty train, the same Koopa decided to board the train and decided to sit in the same part of the carriage.

 _This is the Platform 6 Service to: Mushroom City. Via: Umbrock, Zephenwood, North Port Village, Northeast Port Village, Mushroom Gorge, Moo Moo Farm, Mushroom Heath, and Mushroom City._ The speakers sounded.

"Right, I also need to know where Enrique, the two boys, and Mario is, then we'll need to group up somewhere and launch the press on finding Koopak during the course of the Double Dash Tournament." He whispered.

"Enrique's back on the other Earth, the two boys? Haven't caught sight of them in ages, Mario is probably enjoying himself on the coast of the Mushroom District, best guess is the south, near-ish to the boys' house." Jack immediately hung up, looking at the Koopa sitting opposite him who had also hung up his call.

"It seems to me that you want something from me." Jack spoke to the Koopa.

"But of course, the name's Boom, Boom Boom. And you're on the brink of death if you stay on this train, we both are really, because as soon as we step foot into Mushroom City we'll be next to dead." He replied. "That deciphered text of yours you were talking about needs to be kept safe and not given to Cranky Kong." Jack seemed awfully surprised.

"How do you know all of this?" Jack questioned.

"The information about Koopak is pretty exposed on the other side of the call." He replied.

"Is that why Rosalina didn't give away her position?"

"Precisely – she's held hostage at Bowser's Castle, by Lemmy Koopa."

"What shall I do with the text?" Boom looked up and circumnavigated the train, then spoke into Jack's ear.

"If we keep this between us, give it to me, and deliver this printed letter from Bowser to the Mario brothers, to the Kong family, I believe they are still unaware about the tournament, the Toad Brigade are going to send George and Toby to the same prison as Zane, so I'll be getting off the train earlier to negotiate to the Brigade about them." Jack still seemed surprised whilst reading the letter.

"If he wins then I guess it's his get out of jail free."

"I suppose so, but there's the odd chance in which Peach will just simply get him killed someday, that's what Rosalina said."

"How much did she tell you?"

"Listen, the beginning of this year is going to be very err, complicated, abstract and difficult for everybody, the government's corrupt, Bowser's gonna be doomed, the entire army of his is in agony, Rosalina's been telling them everything. We just need to wait until you get back to the district, you need to unite with the other humans, it's the only way to reunite this land before it goes into major corruption, there'll be more deaths, more tragedies, and we can't afford civil war without a proper formation of the land." Jack worried for a few seconds, trying to take in the information.

 _The next Station is: Umbrock_

The train stopped at the station and Jack managed to point out various amounts of graffiti on the walls. He alerted Boom and pointed to the graffiti that said: "T'gjithë duhet t'di". However he was unsure of what it translates into.

"Well, whatever it is it's got an association with death, which brings me on to the fact that there are loads of deaths in the lands now, more than there used to be." Boom said. Jack was unsure how to respond, glancing at the damaged walls of the station as the train departed.

"I don't know." He worried, looking back at Boom. "If Bowser loses, he dies. If Bowser wins, it'll go back to waging the battles between him and the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Those mere brawls are like TNT to the nuclear bombs that is civil riots, there will be no sides in that, just complete and utter suffering."

 _The next station is: Zephenwood_

"Nobody wants that at all… Wait a minute." Jack reopened the letter and skimming it for a few seconds. "This can't be Bowser; he wouldn't simply choose this at all. It's not his writing." Boom snatched the letter back.

"Where do you think it isn't him?" He asked.

"Pesky Plumbers? Rightful King? Bowser wouldn't say those in a letter let alone write a letter to them anyway." Boom seemed confused, and then agreed with Jack.

"Who could've written it then?" They both looked at each other, unsure.

"Maybe Bowser and Rosalina know back at the castle, and it seems to be a mess right now." Boom thought.

"Well, I have no idea how humans are going to rule these lands, ones that aren't princesses. They're the only good people suitable for the job; the only problem is whoever is causing the riots."

"But why are the riots happening in the first place is the question." Boom responded immediately. "The Koopas of Résethal are Pro-Bowser; it is how his father got into power."

"Loyalty."

"And that being said, they do not want rule by princesses, Peach is considered 'corrupt' now after seizing Bowser finally."

"So they'd rather have endless war between Peach and Bowser?"

"That than Peach's rule." The shadow of the mountains had reached past the train as they arrived at Zephenwood, the Résethal town bordering the mountains.

 _The next station is: North Port Village, via Résethal Tunnel A._

Jack looked back at Boom. "How many stops are considered safe to get off at?" He asked discretely.

"Well I'm getting off at Moo Moo Meadows; I need to see a guy who knows Koopak II and where he's around. I realise it's gonna be tough negotiating with the brigade about them; the princesses probably want their heads too. For you, get off at the stop in between the Meadows and the outermost station of Mushroom City, which is Mushroomheath."

"Alright then." Jack replied. As the train stopped at North Port Village there was a crowd of Toads and Koopas running across the station, some of them jumping across the track, making the train force to stop, the doors had remained closed. Koopas and Toads, Jack and Boom Boom looked out of the window in curiosity and shock noticing the outside citizens running out of the station. Toad brigade members started entering the station, making Jack scared.

"What's going on?" Jack looked at Boom, with all the others inside the train looking at Jack and Boom.

"Not sure, maybe they're after you." He replied.

"Maybe it's the Toads back at the train station. That was Castelia right?"

"Yes it was." Boom stared at the Toad brigade outside, in the tens patrolling the station. The doors opened again.

"Any humans that oppose the princess order must report outside of the train or we will enter the train and take action. Surrender now and you will not be harmed." Jack sunk down on his chair again, Boom charged through the carriages to the front of the train, shoved the wary Toad driver to the floor and pressed as many buttons as he could, hopefully starting the train again, at a high speed, with the doors open. All the Toads and Koopas inside the train fell backwards, some even falling out of the train as it stormed through the Port Valley.

"JACK!" Boom shouted over the gunfire of the Toad brigade members shattering the windows of the train. "Hurry to the front carriage, and break off all the ones behind you!" He stormed up and hurried to the front carriage.

 _The next station is: Northeast Port Village_

The one-carriage train shot past the station at rapid speed, leaving all the Toads willing to aboard to stare ahead in the distance. Jack looked back at the people there as they slowly faded away in the distance.

"Couple stops to go, this button stops the train when you get to Mushroomheath, but since you're going really fast you need to stop the carriage earlier.

"Aright then, I take it the police are after us." He pointed out the police cars in the distance driving along the Mushroom Fields.

 _The next station is: Mushroom Gorge, The next station is closed._

Boom gasped as he looked ahead, across the valley he saw barricades around the walls of the station, filled with troopers in their dozens, as the carriage got closer to the station they readied their guns.

"FIRE AT WILL!" A shout was heard hundreds of metres before the station, lots of inaccurate bullets hit the speeding carriage as it shot past the station, Jack crawled under the seats of the last remaining carriage for protection but he felt a sharp pain as one lucky bullet shot his foot.

"Oh, shit! They got me!" Jack quickly removed the bullet and attempted to resist the pain. He positioned the bloodied area of his leg upwards to prevent blood loss as Boom ignored him and studied a map of the Metro lines in shock.

"Just don't get hurt! Man up!" Boom called from the front carriage. "I can't stop the carriage!" Jack looked back at Boom from the distance and got up as the gunfire stopped as they were distant from the station. "I gotta jump out now – and you will so too somewhere in between the Meadows and Mushroomheath."

"How will I know where to go?" Jack asked Boom before they passed a large lake; the track circulated the lake before turning towards the next stop.

"Just jump about halfway in between the stations, and just avoid any suspicious people in Mushroomheath.

 _The next station is: Moo Moo Meadows, The next station is closed._

The station was actually empty instead of being filled with Brigade Troopers, Boom Boom leaped out of the carriage from the back. Jack watched him walk towards the Meadows centre; he looked forward as the speeding carriage entered a dense woodland area. The ground was lit as it passed all the trees, and squares of fencing containing animals. He soon after discovered a large residential town full of roads and buildings in the distance, about 400 metres before reaching there he jumped out of the carriage and landed firmly after rolling a few times. The entire town was surrounded by high trees and the sky was a navy blue the only source of light in his vision was the lights of the town. Jack scouted onward towards Mushroomheath, going around the metro entrance as the station was on the edge of the town. He watched the speeding carriage pass through and gunfire was heard from as far as he was. At that point he received another phone call, although it was not on his contacts list, without reading the number he quickly answered the phone.

"Who's calling me at… 1:57AM? I too need sleep you know." He spoke on the phone, the person on the receiving end waited a few seconds before answering.

"Luke here. I lost the others."

"Oh, it's you." Jack sat down on the grass, still finding nobody nearby. "That's alright; I know that Ronald made it out alive because he's somewhere sleeping amongst the shores of Sirenna.

"But George and Toby got taken into custody, there probably being taken to the city; I think you should go there."

"Ah I need to get through the city in order to reach the Kongs, got a message to deliver to Cranky Kong about the Double Dash Tournament.

"Fair enough, I suppose you better do that then, need to get Donkey Kong and Diddy into the races in time, maybe get Funky Kong to join up on the open-eight teams. Are you gonna try and participate?" Jack laughed sarcastically across the phone.

"What are you, mad? No chance me doing well in that I never used a kart before."

"Alright, whereabouts are ya right now?" Luke asked. "Mushroom City is a long walk from Sirenna Beach; it's a good 6-8 miles."

"I'm outside a town called Mushroomheath, ever heard of it before?"

"Mushroomheath seems like outside Mushroom city. Is it on the train line?"

"1 Stop on the railway." He replied, then got up and walked around the outskirts of the surrounding fields.

"Then stay away from it, it's probably guarded like fuck there." Luke was resting inside the storage room of the immigration boat, he noticed there were no guards at two in the morning so he got out of the boat and swam around to the car park of the centre, whilst on the call to Jack. "Listen, I'm a have to call you later, I found a car and I'm gonna ride it to the city, probably find Tom and Enrique there."

"Alright then, but be safe." Jack warned. "I don't want you getting mixed up and dealt by the Brigade, maximum security in the city I reckon. If you go in from the east, you will be able to reach the Castle and Toad Town, we need to organise a place to meet up." Jack left the forest area surrounding Mushroomheath and walked along a nearby pathway as he hung up on the phone. There was no sign of any species for hundreds of metres, but Mushroom City was in Jack's vision as he walked southeast towards the north roads. Jack searched his contacts to ring another person.

He tried calling Enrique, but there was no answer.

He tried calling his friend Jaapayo, but there was also no answer.

He tried calling Tom, and there was a response.

"Jack?"

"Tom."

"What is it?"

"Whereabouts are you? I'm outside Mushroom Heath and I need to get a message delivered to the Kongs." Jack asked as he walked directly towards the city.

"If you're going to the castle, get some sleep, you'll need it for tomorrow, stay in a barn of the fields nearby. I'm on my way to the city too; I'm on the Metro Line from Sarasaland, because I needed to alert Daisy about the tournament too. I'm going to rest in this station village of Takhor."

"Takhor? Or Takhar."

"Takhor, it's near Mushroom City, and I will see you tomorrow hopefully, meet me at the Retirement Home, and do it in the evening, there's less security at night-time." Tom replied whilst lying in a comfortable double-bed shirtless. Staying in a local budget apartment in the centre of Takhor, the bedroom door opened and Daisy walked into the room.

"Listen Jack, talk to you later, need to sleep for tomorrow." He hung up the phone on Jack and stared at Daisy.

"I hope you didn't tell him you were with me, this vacation the Mario brothers had down in Isle Port really helped me and you a lot, am I right?" She seductively spoke to Tom, moving closer towards the bed.

"Nope, didn't mention you at all, are you going to Mushroom City tomorrow? The other humans will be going there; I'm going to ring up Enrique tomorrow, Jack's on his way, no idea about the other brothers though."

"Wario and Waluigi?" She questioned.

"No, the unknown ones." He replied as she sat onto the bed.

"You know, you were relieved from your duties five years ago, but you still serve me in this room." She kissed Tom on the neck and lied next to him.

"Desperate times we are in Daisy, such distractions cannot help us from stopping the evil here." She put her hand on his chest and rested her head on it. "But desperate times are later on, when we're in the city; there is no time of need in Takhor." She said.

"You know that people are dying out there, when it comes to tomorrow Bowser will come to and screw Peach around in her castle." Tom pointed out as Daisy pulled the covers down.

"And? Bowser's going to die, we will rescue Peach, so what if she gets captured this time, the goons of Bowser are awful at their job, and we'll call the Mario brothers." Tom worried. "If that's what you think." The two went to sleep under the covers.

...

The phone by Tom's bed side table rang at half four in the morning. Tom quickly got out of the bed and answered the phone; he got out to the balcony of the apartment.

"What?"

"Tom, I've had no sleep, get here as soon as you can please." It was Jack on the other end of the phone. "I've arrived at the retirement home, what should I do here then?" Tom sighed.

"Jack, bury yourself into a room, and just sleep, Sleep! Both of us have no sleep and have a big journey tomorrow!" He shouted. The curtains of the balcony flew over his head at fast speed, he heard crackling sounds in his apartment and lots of moving around. Peeking through the curtains he noticed that Daisy had disappeared.

"Tom, I heard that some of the competitors still do not know of this tournament, and it's in a couple of days, sooner or later it'll be around the corner!" Jack spoke loudly from the side of the call, Tom stood silently without replying.

"Jack?"

"...Yes?" He seemed paranoid.

"I think I'm being targeted." He then noticed a red dot approaching his forehead. Tom ducked and the red dot moved and scraped his arm upon the bullet fire. "Argh fuck!" He dropped the phone and crouched to pick up the phone with his other hand and ran back inside of the apartment.

"Tom? You ok?" Jack called out on the phone.

"No actually, was just shot in the arm, it feels... it doesn't feel!" He moved over against the wall and slipped onto the floor."

"Tom, get up, this happened to me earlier, stupid Brigade trooper shot me in the leg." He shot up as several Toad brigade members stormed into the room and put up weapons against Tom.

"Arms in the air!" One of the Toads ordered as Tom dropped the phone.

"One of you shot my arm." Tom raised his left arm in the air. Luigi soon entered the room with a knife and a Tanooki Mushroom in his hands.

"Luigi!" Tom shouted. "She was all over me! I didn't want to take her away from you!" He abstained for a few seconds before speaking.

"That's not why I am here, I know she is mine, but it's the fact that you've being working for evil over these years, all of the humans, all of them! Enrique, Jaapayo, all of them, I'm here to hunt you down and send you to the castle." Tom seemed happy in his mind.

"Alright, you got me!" He acted as he was escorted towards a Toadstool van, which rode off towards the Mushroom District; Tom fell asleep at the back of the Van with Luigi and Daisy in the front of the car.

 **Peach's Castle, Toad Town – January 5, 2015 – 11:50AM**

Tom woke up in an empty room presumably at the basement of Peach's Castle, there were no armed guards inside the room, only a letter was found in the middle of the room, Tom picked it up noticing it was written to him. He read:

 _Tom,_

 _You had to be put to sleep in order for us to save you here, we managed to get your body away from the Mario brothers and the two princesses when we were roaming in the castle, all we ask for in return is to make sure that my boyfriend manages to make it out of the district alive and well. Both Bowser and the Princesses want him killed. We do neutrals no harm in this world._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Jeanette Asquia_

Tom opened the hatch door and saw no sign of anybody. The only thing he could hear was the sound of the door opening. He continued on to find a way round the castle, which he thought was a maze. He still didn't see anybody in the castle, no servants, butlers, slaves anybody.

After climbing a lot of stair cases he opened up one door in which he saw the princesses, the Mario brothers, Toadbert, Toadsworth and a few other unarmed brigade members against a table drinking around the centre table.

"Traitor! Fiend!" Toadbert shouted from the other side of the room.

"It's-a me, your executioner!" Mario got up and walked over to Tom, he was enraged but Tom backed away to the door.

"Wait!" He shouted. "I have a bomb! You're all together here you could all die if you move any closer." He then lied.

"You're coming to kill us?" Daisy begged seductively.

"I can do this, don't make me!" He noticed a huge key ring with about fifty keys and one huge key lying against the shelves to his right. Tom stood for a few seconds and then grabbed the key ring and closed the door, using the large key to lock the door to the room.

"I should've made the big key the front door keys!" Peach cried.

"Did he just...?" Mario gasped.

"Yep, yes he did." Luigi slid down his chair. "And you-a don't even have another door out to your dormitory." He sighed. Peach drank some more.

"We'll get out eventually, listen, we're not to worry at all here, as soon as those games end this land will all be fine. Lynch the new humans, and problem solved! Champagne anyone?" She toasted and fell back in her chair.

Tom walked through the hallways of the castle to find his exit after another few minutes. Upon leaving the castle he saw himself surrounded by the Townsfolk of Toad Town, some staring at him as he walked along the stone footpath, after eight years Lumas were still found in the area, for the wrong reasons.

"Tom!" One of the Lumas called at him, a black rather large luma floated next to Tom as he approached. "Have you seen our mother anywhere? We were supposed to leave for the hundred-year orbit, but she said she was going to be back after the battle North. Five years and she hasn't shown up. Tom seemed very confused.

"Polari, I'm afraid Rosalina's not going to be able to return any time soon, you should go into space on your own, meet the stars, be stars?" He suggested, some of the nearby Lumas began to feel down. "I'm sorry." He said "But I'm not able to bring her to you all, she has business to deal with, you can all still go together, the ship has fuel." Tom stared across the lake to the comet observatory which has a bright cyan flame in its centre. "Do it yourselves."

"But it's not the same if Momma doesn't control the ship." A small white luma stated.

"Well, it's better going now rather than waiting, your Momma will not see you again." Tom broke the news to the crying Lumas.

"I understand Tom." Polari cheered up the Lumas. "I will control the ship and we'll travel without her." Tom felt relieved. "Yeah, there's worse business going up to the north-East, and she's just not going to be able to explore the stars with you." The Lumas travelled across the lake to the ship as Tom walked over to the Toad Town gate, he looked around to notice the lack of Toads within the Town. It was almost empty, which reminded him of the Toads in the castle: no Toads.

The walk to Mushroom City via the private woods was also rather quiet, but that significantly changed as Tom saw dozens of brigade members patrolling the outskirts of the city. Staring in the distance, he saw normal life in the city as there were typical Toads and Piantas walking through the roads. He searched around for any possible aid to getting past the heavily guarded boundaries to the city. Over a stump he found a leaking pipe, spilling water. Having no other option he crawled through the dirty green pipe.

In the evening, the city was still full of Toad and other various citizen species which patrolled the streets and the only areas without a huge density of citizens were within the dark and dirty alleyways, the sky was almost black and the weather was dry but humid. Jack anonymously waited quietly for a taxi without being seen by any brigade members, he was at the northwest area of Mushroom City and needed to reach the Kong's Woodland Jungle which is a few miles from the city towards the southeast. Jack noticed a few police cars driving towards his direction so he pulled his hood up and looked away as the cars had driven by. As a taxi pulled over he leaped into the back seat of the vehicle and noticed his driver to be a Toad driver with the resemblance of Toad himself.

"Take me to the nearest town to the southeast of the City." Jack demanded as the car drove off southeastwards.

"Onto the motorway?" The Toad driver questioned back.

"Yeah but I need to get off before the motorway." Jack replied, he noticed that the taxi drove over to the loop of Toad's Turnpike, and then towards the Mushroom City circuit roads.

"We need to get onto the bridge in order to leave." The Toad lied secretly, Jack looked out of the window of the vehicle noticing the other vehicles caught up in traffic on the other lanes. As they reached the bridge the car swerved to the right towards the gap in the bridge, heading straight to a lamppost.

"For the Princess!" The Toad smashed the vehicle into the lamppost on the edge of the gap, the vehicle tilted unbalanced, the right wheels lay in the air and the left stuck onto the road. Jack and the Toad were knocked out unconscious…

TWO HOURS LATER.

Jack woke up by the sound of movement within the vehicle, he woke up at the very back of the vehicle surrounded by storage items and he noticed that his letter wasn't in his hands. His eyes were barely open as the taxi vibrated and started tilting to the right. As he noticed the driver was not in the vehicle, it flipped over and fell off of the Mushroom City Bridge where it had originally crashed. His ears blocked with only the sound of Police Sirens being heard, his bones were stiff and thanks to the seats at the back he remained alive without any serious injuries, except for glass shattering on parts of his skin.

Jack moved about within the vehicle and tried to reach the top door. As he got out all he saw around him were the fences of the surrounding buildings. Noise filled his ears coming from above him where there was traffic from cars in their hundreds and Brigade members securing the area. Jack started to hear Police sirens from another area, from the exit of the ground below the bridge, so he stuffed himself compressed within the boxes inside the vehicle, while panting he began to play dead, though still breathing heavily.

"Search for any survivors, prioritise the Toads." One of the Police Toads called out as they started to search the broken vehicle. Jack lay silent at the back at the people, almost unconscious. A torch was shown over his face by a Toad, then gently it swiped off his face. The interior of the destroyed vehicle became bleak and dark as the Toads left the vehicle.

"There's no living bodies in the vehicle sir, though there's a deceased human." The voice of a Toad travelled into Jack's ears as he woke up again.

"A human? That's nothing but good news!" Another Toad, presumably the leader of the group cheered as they walked towards the vehicle. "Bring out the corpse! This man must be treated with some of our 'special' rituals!" The Toads grabbed Jack from the vehicle as he pretended to be dead again. Soon after the leader Toad halted and noticed the feint heartbeat of Jack being distinguished from the others', turning back and looking at Jack.

"This man is alive! Drop him!" The Toad called as Jack was dropped to the ground, as he banged his head he wailed on the ground in pain.

"Argh! That hurt." He opened his eyes and noticed the leader of the group of Toads. "Toad himself?" He questioned.

"Enrique Calaghal!" Toad stated incorrectly.

"Wrong person." Jack stretched in disappointment. "Am, I supposed to be afraid? I thought the group of us did no harm to the Toads."

"By the order of Princess Peach, any humans within the bounds of the three southern districts must be exiled to Résethal after Bowser's request has ended." Toad ordered at Jack.

"Alright cool, but what about Mario, Luigi, and the rest?" Toad seemed contradicted.

"Belay that last order. Capture him!" The toads cuffed Jack as he was taken into the Police vehicle. Which then drove off leaving the crashed taxi abandoned at the site below the Mushroom City bridge.

"So, what's it like working for the princess?" Jack asked while at the back of the Police Van, tied up sitting next to two armed Toad brigade members.

"You know I am devoted to the Princess, Jack, you've known that even since the games."Jack and the other Toad brigade members felt very awkward as Toad spoke out.

"Well, that being said, I guess the Princess is good with dictatorship. We work for her and we are given shelter, food, economy and civilisation." The Toad to Jack's left mentioned.

"So, communism?" Jack thought but the Toads were confused and not fond with the word.

"No, definitely not Jack." Toad spoke out from the front of the Van.

"Why isn't it?" He asked making Toad feel anxious. "Just shut up." He replied feeling defeated.

"What's communism?" The Toad to the right asked, but was slapped by the left Toad. "Nothing!" He replied boldly.

"It's just how you guys live, you're in the Labour Market of Muhu Delfethal." Jack explained.

"Working for the Princess is essential, especially for the fact that this land is all we know of." The right Toad responded making Jack burst out laughing.

"Seriously? Has anybody ever told you about the land beyond the North? The huge planet we live on?" Muhu Delfethal is just a mere Island in the continent of Sordír!" Jack eagerly stated, making Toad furious. "Shut his mouth!" He ordered as his mouth was celotaped. "You're so annoying!" Toad shouted as the Van drove towards Toad Town.

"Is Jack right about this not being the only land?" The right Toad asked Toad.

"No, he's lying. Peach is always right." Toad worried as he planted his face into the steering wheel as the vehicle stopped outside Peach's castle. "Deliver Jack to the top of the Castle." Jack and the two other Toads left through the back of the Van as Toad sank in the driver's seat.

 **EOC: I still recommend that you read the other fanfics (Origins and Speed Dials). This is going to be a very long fanfic. This chapter was finished in February 2016, yes it's taking forever I have other stuff to do.**

 **2017 UPDATE: There have been a few edits to this chapter as I have looked back onto it and used this to help me do the other chapters. If you have any questions give a review of PM me.**

 **A/N: If you did not know already, the humans at Sirenna Beach were originally Tom and Enrique's friends from Earth bar Ronald Rodriguez and Jack Akbal.**

 **R &R! Whatever that means, my best guess is Review and err, what?**


	4. Discussions

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 4 – Discussions

 **A/N: I have recently been through a huge break of writing my fanfics, massively delaying the releases of the Origins and the last Chapter on Speed Dials (the time this was typed was February 2016) those fanfics have been continued slowly and will be finished soon. Those will also include references to this as well, such as the new appearances of the Human OCs, such as Tom, Enrique and Jack.**

 **Here's this chapter.**

 **(2017-18 Update) this was finished ages ago.**

 **Sirenna Beach Train Station – January 6, 2015 – 4:02AM**

Dawn.

Enrique woke up from his short sleep on the Metro Train he had entered in back at Mushroom City. The train was completely empty and idle. Doors were open and the train stopped fifty metres from the gates to the Sirenna Beach Detention Centre. He jumped up and stormed through the front doors of the centre and all the Toads and Koopas reacted anxiously as he entered.

"Mr Calaghal, what brings you here at four in the morning, surely you were taken to Mushroom City, to meet with the Princess." The head Toad in the office rooms thought as Enrique stopped to listen.

"What, no. I didn't come to this land for any specific reason, I was told to come here by Tom." He replied glaring at the Toad, who backed away from him.

"My mistake, we managed to catch two humans from the immigration boat that arrived yesterday. Their names are George Martin and Toby Jones." The Toads escorted Enrique towards the cells of the detention centre and stopped when they reached the two humans, who reacted in shock to see him.

"George and Toby?" He glanced at the two.

"Enrique! It's us! Let us free!" The two humans jumped in excitement, but soon stopped their happy mood as Enrique stood still.

"Enrique?" Toby called out, but there was still no answer. Soon enough Enrique smiled and felt relieved.

"They are with me now." He snatched the key politely from the Toad of the office and opened their cell door.

"Dearest apologies Enrique, m-my mistake that you know them, remember that you should gather all the humans together for the fate of the land." He said anxiously.

"All is as it should be for us. We have no word of Marrec." He replied looking down at the Toad.

"Is he the guy that looks like Christoph Waltz?" George asked Enrique which made him zone out for a few seconds.

"Y-yes, a little like him." Enrique seemed confused. "Anyway, we will be resting in these cells tonight anyway; we need some sleep for the morning." He moved over towards the top bunk of the cell George and Toby were originally staying in, which made Toby furious.

"Hey, you're not staying here!" Toby called out at Enrique.

"Right, I just remembered, I'll be gone for about a minute, see you in four hours!" He started laughing as he disappeared from the cell room. The Toads went to look for him as he turned into a dead end of the cell, but he vanished. The Toads returned to the cell room where George and Toby tried to sleep in. "He used his magic again." The head Toad stated. They left the room as George and Toby began to sleep.

Enrique warped into his bedroom of his old house he lived. It was pitch black outside and he could hear the sound of argument being heard downstairs

"Žao mi je, ali vjerujemo da je Enrique je preminuo." The voice of a detective or policeman occurred into Enrique's ear.

"Ali moj sin je rekao da će se vratiti!"The voice of Enrique's father cried from downstairs. He stood frozen for another few seconds.

"Gospođo to je skoro pet godina." The other voice spoke again and his father began to cry, a few tears started to fall down Enrique's eyes, but he counted almost a minute in his head at the same time and re-opened a warp which led him back to the dead-end of the Detention Centre. This time it was bright outside, and George and Toby started to wake up, in time of the world they were in, it is almost 8:00AM, January 6, 2015(1).

"Wake up boys! We need to meet with the others." Enrique released George and Toby from the cells...

..

Bowser woke up from his long sleep lying on his throne. He looked to his left and still saw Princess Peach sleeping in her cage. He got up to look at her closely, still fast asleep. He remembered now that he sent off all of his kids back to other parts of the lands as ordered and it was only four days till the beginning of the tournament.

"Wake up!" Bowser rattled the cage, frightening Peach and waking her up from her broken sleep. "It's in four days time, and we only have 2 extra teams participating. I need to call up some people. Where's my phone at?" Peach stared at Bowser as he walked out of the throne room. She looked around to see any escape, desperate to leave this forsaken castle. Bowser shortly returned back with his phone. "No worries Toadstool, we're going back to ya castle assembling up all the other teams. I remember you sent a broadcast for people to gather round your castle for them to be picked into the races. Just need to make a quick call before we go." He slouched back onto his throne and rested his feet to block Peach in his vision. Bowser selected the first contact: King Boo and gave him a ring.

Bzzzzzt!

"Hey Bowser, what's the problem?"

"King, I want you to join my races, with a partner of course, have a go at you know... winning if you know what I mean."

"I've heard about this, your assets are incomparable except for Peach's. Petey and I will race and we'll honour your death with all your money!" King Boo laughed loudly through the phone.

"Looks like he wants you dead." Peach said overhearing the conversation.

"Well, if it's my last tournament, may as well make it the best one. Meet me at Peach's Castle at 7pm."

"I'll be there quicker than you can say BOO!" The phone hung up. Bowser opened up his legs to see through to Peach in her cage.

Part Two: The Road to Double-Dash

 **Peach's Castle, Toad Town – January 6, 2015 (1) 7:00PM**

Bowser and Peach arrived back to Peach's castle and landed the clown vehicle inside her dormitory through the broken window. Several others from across the lands situated themselves inside the castle while the surroundings outside were full of Toad Patrol vehicles, police and scared citizens. Bowser dumped the cage onto Peach's bed and used a microphone speaker by Peach's desk to address every potential contender inside the castle.

"This is your King speaking." Bowser giggled. "All contenders meet at the top floor." He looked back at Peach feeling ungrateful, so he walked over to her and opened the cage. King Boo's laugh echoed throughout the castle as over a period of 5 minutes, several different characters walked into the room. Starting from the left, Bowser saw King Boo and Petey, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, Hammer Bro and Fire Bro, Wario and Waluigi, Diddy Kong, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, Shy Guy, Lakitu, and Dry Bones. Shortly after he saw them all, Jack Akbal was restrained by several Toad servants. As they saw Bowser inside the room they shrieked and dashed along the hallway out of sight. And as they disappeared, three other humans appeared: Enrique, George and Toby.

There was a short period of awkward silence as the door closed.

"What's this, a party?" Toby Jones spoke first sarcastically.

"Good thing I already ate dinner." Lakitu laughed.

"Anyway, you can see that I am letting Peach stand freely, which means we are in a conference about the tournament." Bowser began a lecture. "Now you all must be here to apply, and Peach is witnessing so you all seem like eligible applicants."

"We're already applicants." Paratroopa butted in.

"Us too." Fire Bro and Hammer Bro spoke at the same time.

"Stand over there then." Bowser pointed and the four contenders walked over to that side of the room. "Anybody else who already is, stand over there too." Wario and Waluigi, and Diddy Kong headed over.

"I don't know where DK is." Diddy mentioned.

"Doesn't matter. Anyway, who is the next pairing?" Bowser asked. Funky Kong and Cranky Kong approached Bowser. "This is going to be fun."

"Ha-ha." Funky Kong laughed.

"This is for you." Cranky Kong handed over Bowser a tattered piece of paper. It was the letter supposedly made by him. Bowser analysed the letter.

"Apologies for the format." He said. "I only signed it, Peach wrote it out obviously, but it was my choice for this." Bowser walked over to a shelf where he found a pencil to write with. "9 Toadbert and Toadsworth, 10 Hammer Bro and... Fire Bro." He kept writing. "11, Funky Kong and err."

"Cranky Kong."

"Cranky Kong..."

 _11\. Funky Kong and Cranky Kong_

"Anybody else?" Shy Guy and Lakitu stepped forward. "I know I can trust you guys." He wrote their names down before sending them with the other contenders.

 _12\. Shy Guy and Lakitu_

"Next?" Peach stood next to him silently. Petey began making high pitched sounds which directed Bowser's attention to him.

"13, King Boo and Petey."

 _13\. King Boo and Petey_

"3 more to go."

"Lord Bowser. "Dry Bones addressed. "Kamek was supposed to meet me here today but then all of a sudden."

"That's alright, I'll note it down, I'm sure you two are good enough anyway."

 _14\. Dry Bones and Kamek_

"Anybody else?" A short period of silence followed, Bowser looked around to see everyone either whistling idly or move their heads looking all over the place. "Nobody? What about you guys?" Bowser looked towards Enrique, next to George and Toby, and then Jack towards the shelves.

"We don't know how to drive." Toby replied on behalf of George and himself.

"Yeah no point us playing." George said back to Bowser.

"There's only four days left to find 2 more teams. Anybody know anyone that might want to play?" Bowser began to hear muttering amongst the people inside the large room. He walked over towards the window looking down to the rest of Mushroom City then immediately panicked after more of the glass window shattered onto his shell from bullets being fired from the bottom. Many people in the room gasped and backed up from the window view.

"Someone's called the entire brigade and police force down there!" Diddy Kong peeked down from the top floor. Peach bravely approached the edge of the dormitory where she could look tens of floors down. The visibility was unclear due to the siren lights of the police cars and the army vehicles. She could see over 2000 heads of citizens at the bottom, and the front entrance barred off and sealed.

"Stay here for a short while; nobody considered an enemy get near the edge." Koopa Troopa suggested. Wario and Waluigi backed up to the back corner of the room.

"Peach!" Enrique called from across the room. She turned over to see him throwing her some binoculars he found on the shelves next to Jack. Peach equipped the binoculars and noticed all of the Toads, Koopas and Piantas. Many holding torches and being barred off by the brigade. As she scanned the area she noticed more citizens all showing anger or sadness, a loud background sound of shouts and screams were heard by the whole group.

"What's happening?" Funky Kong asked.

"There's a riot. A huge angry mob, I see Koopas attacking Toads now." Peach replied. She moved her vision to the right and on top of some buildings. There she noticed a familiar red-shelled Koopa on a rooftop, heavily armed with a weapon. Jack attempted to rush towards Peach but was held up by Enrique, stopping him by moving his arm out and grabbing Jack's coat.

"Don't even think about it." Jack settled down against the wall of the shelves again. Enrique slowly approached Peach, who looked back at him.

"Let me see." She gave the binoculars to him. Besides the background conversation occurring by the Kongs, Wario and Waluigi, everyone else, including Bowser were watching Peach patiently and honourably, not even attempting to push her off the edge. Enrique moved his head around to look at the ground where all the Toads and Koopas were.

"See if anybody here pushes Peach down, the whole world will be in riots." Dry Bones whispered to Lakitu.

"She's too important of a person to everybody." He replied, both of them staring near the edge.

Enrique could see bonfires arising smoke from the bottom, next to some police vehicles, he then realised that the bonfires were lit from destroyed vehicles and trees outside the main entrance. "Yep that's a riot." He moved his vision towards the same Koopa heavily armed, this time he armed himself with a rocket launcher, about to fire.

"It's Koopak Asquia, with a rocket!" Koopak fired, heading straight for the top floor. "RUN!" He shouted, everyone in the room panicked and headed out of the room before the rocket blasted and caused an explosion against the castle. The entire left pillar of the dormitory crumbled into pieces and more rubble and glass shattered, spreading over to the dusty floor of Peach's room. Everybody who was inside either ran out of the room or remained inside but next to the doorway. The table of maps flew forward spreading all the maps onto the floor, Peach hurried over and collected them in worry, Enrique aiding her in the process. The group began to hear sounds of gunfire coming from down by the crowds, soon following was the sound of screams. Enrique went back to look down and he saw all the citizens fighting, running or still revolting towards the castle gates. Toad Town seemed like a battleground now.

Everybody who was on the top floor aligned themselves along a large corridor leading to a staircase; Bowser looked back towards his clown ship which seemed still intact, but more focused on addressing the group. All he could here were the groups talking to each other, loud enough for him not to convey a message.

"SILENCE!" He ordered. "Any others here? Jack?" The crowd stared at Jack, who appeared bruised in many areas around his face. "Rough set of days, eh?"

"I'm not a good racer, never done it before. Never seen someone do it either. Best I watch." Bowser sighed, along with Wario and Waluigi grinning.

"Get good son ha-ha." The two laughed. "Silly Earth-boy."

"But I'm not an Earth-boy, he is though." Jack pointed at Enrique who was standing next to Peach. The crowd diverted their attention towards him, who was distracted by his fingernails turning black from the blast. He gasped as everyone was looking at him.

"Me? Race? Now come on, I don't think so." He backed away from Peach. "Plus, don't really want anybody dying anytime soon." Peach turned red. The dreaded commotion occurring just after the incident infuriated her with rage.

"Alright enough!" She ran over and pulled an alarm switch, sending off alarm signals throughout the castle. "Get out of my castle! I will sort out the last 2 teams, see you on the 10th!" She screamed as an eruptive sound of charging Toad brigade came marching through the main entrance and up the stairs. She smiled evilly as everyone else felt confused and surrounded. Bowser, along with Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, dashed away back to Bowser's clown ship and rushed off, staring down at the crowds fighting each other down in the streets of Toad Town. As they hovered slowly and quietly, Bowser noticed the busy sounds of Mushroom City as he flown over, unused to all the new skyscrapers and roads in the area. Flashing lights came from all areas of the city as riots spread into those parts, causing fires on every few blocks of buildings. It became a massacre. Bowser then turned back to see Peach's castle, nearly being hidden by clouds, but he caught a glimpse of Enrique standing on the edge of he destroyed room that was Peach's dormitory where all her battle plans lay destroyed. He then turned his head down and left towards some of the buildings. There he saw the head of Koopak Asquia II, who turned his head directly at Bowser, staring at him and scaring him. Bowser was shocked at how he knew where Bowser was in the sky, but instead he gave an evil look back at Koopak before disappearing into the clouds en route back to his castle.

The Kongs had escaped the massacre climbing down the castle walls and heading off through the trees of the nearby woodland, heading straight back to their Jungle to the southeast. However, Wario and Waluigi were restrained up by many Toads as Peach found them attempting to escape the castle. King Boo and Petey had disappeared, but Shy Guy, Dry Bones and Lakitu were caught and cuffed by the Brigade. Several minutes later, Peach had gathered up all the captives in her throne room, just past the main entrance, the giant room where she would announce her messages to the Town and other lands who had people from them attend. And by surprise, at the same time Mario, Luigi and Daisy entered through the main entrance, which seemed to have died down in terms of the number of angry mob-people. Nobody knew where those three had been today, yet they arrive as if nothing bad has happened.

"Princess! How have you been today?" Mario skipped delightfully over towards Peach across the room, where there were the captives and several Toad brigade and police members holding them restraint.

"Mario!" She rushed over greeted him, along with Luigi and Daisy soon after. "Toads! Send these five to the dungeons; they will be released on the 10th."

"Well, look who it is, fool in yellow." Mario taunted Wario as he was held captive.

"We'll see who gets the last laugh when we roll in millions of coins after this! Stupid red plumber." Wario threatened back.

"We will be the rulers!" Waluigi laughed.

"In your dreams, skinny boy!" Luigi taunted back.

"Ha-ha, hope you don't mind fist to mouth after we're done here!" He yelled as the Brigade took them away.

"Fist to mouth?" Daisy stated, confused about the statement.

"Mouth to mouth?" Luigi looked back at Daisy, she blushed in response. "Smooth." She said. "But not now, something bad has happened it seems."

"Indeed, the city is in havoc, and that ass Koopak tried to assassinate me!" Peach mentioned.

"What else happened?" Mario asked in a sympathetic tone.

"We have 14 teams so far, and awaiting 2 more, we have until the 10th to get them all together. Bowser had delivered me back here thankfully to help address the teams."

"What are the teams?" Luigi asked.

"I can't quite remember, let's go back to my dormitory, I think the list is there."

 _SEVERAL MINUTES LATER..._

The four arrived back to the top floor, where they could see the door to the dormitory wide open. To the left they saw broken shelves lighting a small fire in the room. Jack was leaning against the wall staring into the fire in deep thought, and Enrique was standing by the edge of the floor where the shattered remains of the window remained. He stood there feeling the wind from high up, and looking at the letter showing the names of all the contenders. As the four entered the room, Jack turned his attention to them but Enrique had his eyes glued to the text.

"Where were the other two that were here?" Peach asked Jack as he looked at her neutrally.

"Don't know, escaped maybe." He replied monotonously. "It's a mess down there if you hadn't seen already."

"I know I've seen it." She said as she walked over towards Enrique. Mario, Luigi and Daisy stood and stared around the room, looking at the mess the explosion had caused and the wind blowing everything away. Peach stood right next to him and looked into his eyes, still reading the text and thinking in his head. Enrique stopped reading the text and then gave Peach a long big hug, still holding onto the map.

"I saw him." He said, shortly before stopping the hug. "He tried to kill you... Not like Bowser when he would capture you and give Mario enough time for you to be saved by him. Literally, kill you."

"Let me have a look at this." Peach took the map off Enrique. "Outside now the rest of you, go." She ordered. The four others in the room went outside and Luigi sealed the door closed again. Enrique looked down at the city again using the binoculars to see many flames in the streets and barriers made by the brigade to stop people protesting. The sight filled sadness into Enrique, making him walk slowly backward and sit down against the wall.

"You're too powerful in these lands, people want you dead, and if you die it gets even worse." He sobbed sitting on the floor. Peach walked to her left and opened a door which led to a small cabinet with a fridge and draws. After a few seconds she got a bottle out of the fridge and poured herself a glass of champagne unsurprisingly. Royally she walked over and sat down next to Enrique, sipping some champagne and also enjoying the cool breeze coming from the massive gap in the castle.

"I'm not even mad." Enrique followed up, making Peach laugh a bit, she handed the letter back to Enrique. "Just an excuse for some private time." She said. Enrique looked back at the letter and skimmed through it one more time.

"You are lucky." He pointed at the text. "You wrote this. Somehow he wanted a trial by Double Dash as well." Peach sat next to him awkwardly finding out what to say.

"You see, me and Bowser go way back, although we are arch enemies we know how to end it in style. He will most likely lose these games and he will be slaughtered, when the Toads and Koopas see a just death, they will switch to living peacefully across all the southern lands. The only problems we will have left are Koopak and the north. Shamefully 5 years ago I had to let that one sway." She sipped more champagne, going down the glass quickly. "The biggest sporting industry here is karting, there will be tickets for all those wanting to watch whether it will be in local broadcasting areas or along the racetracks themselves, all this revenue is coming back into the government and we can help address all of the mishaps this land has currently got." She continued. "Do you want to race?" Enrique lay silently for a bit.

"It's ok if you don't want to. What's more important right now is solving what caused the town to turn into an angry mob. Thankfully the police should be solving that right now." She got up and walked over towards the view of the city, carrying her empty glass with her left hand. Soon after, Enrique joined her, both standing on the edge of the tall castle. Lights from the buildings and remaining bonfires shined across the town in a very anarchistic way. "I hope people will be happier tomorrow, one more day to the biggest competition ever in my eyes." She made Enrique think about the games more broadly, he remembered all those who gathered here today to sign up and those already included, but he felt he was not canon enough to enter. The sky had turned black now and most of the horizon was filled with bonfire smoke and stars above, it was rather a sad day in Mushroom City. Peach walked back towards the cabinet and fridge and placed her champagne glass back inside the draws. Secondly, she approached the door out of her dormitory to open the door for the others outside. All she could see outside when she looked through the doorway was Daisy waiting patiently. They gave each other a big, comforting hug before talking amongst themselves.

"Where are Mario and Luigi?" Peach asked Daisy.

"Down in town trying to help save people." She replied, as she looked through the doorway she jumped in surprise noticing the big removal in the room. "Aye! What happened here?" She asked loudly, walking through towards the edge to stare down at the town knowing she wasn't the first to do so.

"An explosion." Enrique stated. "By the infamous Koopak Asquia."

"Curse him, we all want him dead." Daisy growled, clenching her fists. "He's gonna pay for this!"

"It's ok, Daisy." Peach interrupted, walking back to the edge. "I wonder if not everybody in the Mushroom Kingdom likes me anymore, I don't know what I've done wrong."

"It's because there are spies in the lands, Bowser spies, Hostile spies, Koopak spies." Enrique answered, trying to convince Peach that a reformation needs to happen just like 5 years ago. "It's hard to trust everybody; these races need to happen sooner so we can decide what happens afterwards. Sometimes I feel that if Bowser loses and dies it would be worse off for us, remember those riots-."

"WHAT'S DONE IS DONE!" Peach yelled at Enrique. "Bowser is on trial! That cannot be revoked."

"We must do our best to beat him now Enrique, don't you see?" Daisy backed up Peach unaware of Enrique's knowledge on this.

"I see it all clearly! You don't know what I've seen in my years here. There's so many Koopas and Goombas that want you dead, I'm trying to keep you alive. Let's just hope nobody assassinates you _during_ the races, and then the whole world goes to sham." He yelled back, frightening the two. "If you want this to be a safe and competitive tournament, up the prices, up the security, and up the viewers. Make sure that everybody plays to win and that Bowser has nobody also playing who are willing to abuse you two and the Mario brothers per say by spamming shells at you. Nobody likes fake teams. Set up betting systems too, make more revenue from that. You will make lots of money to buy yourself enough security to keep the whole land fenced off from you. That way you can rule without worrying about a thing!" He went off in a lecturing rant at Peach.

"Good idea-." Daisy stated before being interrupted by the rage of Peach.

"ENRIQUE! GET OUT OF MY CASTLE BEFORE I SET THE BRIGADE ON YOU!"

"Fine!" He yelled back. "You want me to no longer support you! Then I'm signing up for these races too. Have it the way you want, because I sure as do know that what I just said was a perfect idea in your eyes." He stormed out of the room, turning left towards a castle balcony and disappearing. The two still stood in her dormitory silent and awkward.

"So, what did you think about his idea, of upping the prices and competition."

"Get Mario and Luigi, it's time to distribute the tickets, and assemble the last remaining teams. You and I will win this, Daisy, and I will show you the true meaning of power in these lands. Everybody is playing to win, and I will strictly remind the racers on that when we decide the courses. I will have a layout for everybody on the race deciding."

"What about Enrique, is he going to race with Tom?"

"Let him, he's probably rubbish. Follow me." Peach led Daisy out of the room and walked a series of stairs and corridors. "We aren't playing to show off our beauty, we are playing to win."

"Kart or bike?" Daisy asked. Peach hurried along with her towards a large room with a switch on the wall, as Peach flicked it the wall next to the two slid open revealing a larger, two-man version of the Mach Bike. Polished to shine and covered with an inlay of orange and pink, with a crown and flower shown on the front and sides. It also had grips at the back for the item user, along with enough space for the two to sit on.

"Have a seat." Peach offered smiling back at Daisy, who giggled. "Like you're the item holder." The two practiced their seat on the bike. It felt comfortable for both of them as Daisy nodded back at Peach.

"And swap." The two quickly shifted their butts and legs to swap places. They sat on each other's dresses, but other than that Daisy seemed confident in the driver position and Peach the same at the item holder seat. They both began giggling loudly at each other.

"We're so gonna win." Daisy laughed.

"Who cares about Mario and Luigi, we're better than them!" Peach laughed as well as the two got off the bike. She flicked the switch again and slid the door back to keep the bike secure.

"I wonder what everyone else has to offer with their vehicles." Daisy thought.

"Let's get some sleep." Peach walked over to a button which when pressed displayed voice announcements to those inside. "Toads please come and clear up the mess in my dormitory, you will be paid overtime for this." She announced. "Time to go to bed."

"What about Mario and Luigi and the tickets?" Daisy reminded.

"Oh." Peach laughed again. "Tomorrow we will do that." She escorted Daisy to Peach's bedroom, on the same floor as her dormitory which was used for meetings and battle plans. The two giggled as they left through the doorway...

 _ABOUT 20 HOURS EARLIER..._

In the middle of the night off the pipes of Piranha Plant Pipeway, a Magikoopa, an Ape, and a Human were confronted by a bright torchlight, blinding the three as the luminosity stood out against the sky's darkness. The user quickly turned off her torch and then re-used it facing the floor.

"Who are you?" Tom asked, continuing off from their previous conversation.

"I am a guide to freedom." The Koopa that wielded the torch invoked a message. "I'm kidding with you, the name's Jeanette." She joked. "You'll thank me later."

"Excuse me?" Tom seemed confused.

"The message, I saved you from the Luigi." She nudged Tom, reminding him of a couple days back.

"Oh I see. Well what are you doing out here in the darkness?" He asked. Kamek and Donkey Kong looked at each other side by side, lost in the conversation. DK scratched his head awkwardly while they talked, looking around at the grass and the buildings leading back to Mushroom City in front of him.

"Hiding, looking for you, I have to tell you the news." Jeanette praised, seeming unusually happy at this nightly hour. "We must walk back to the city, important things are happening. There's a new tournament in town and oh boy, I am going to be rich soon!" She jumped with joy, dancing along the bumpy grassland and swirling around the nearby small trees. Tom was shocked with surprise but soon hurried on following her. Kamek and DK still looked really confused.

"She seems a bit odd doesn't she?" Kamek yelled at Tom, loud enough for him to hear but not for Jeanette who was further ahead to hear.

"All I know is that when I was with Daisy the other night, I got tracked down by Luigi and the Brigade. All of a sudden I woke up in this safe room and apparently she got me there safely." He turned his head to talk back, proceeding through the grassland and onto the path back to Toad Town. The path the four went on led them to a tiny settlement on the edge of Mushroom City called Kalinka. All there was were four building blocks, two of them being apartments. Jeanette slowed her pace down as she approached the road, there she could see if anybody was able to see her. No Toad was in sight.

"Rest here tonight." Jeanette said as she opened a back door into an apartment block, followed by stairs leading upward. Be quiet and careful, there are people sleeping here. They settled on the fifth floor, Jeanette opened up two rooms, one for Donkey Kong, the other for Kamek and Tom. Next door to Kamek and Tom's was Jeanette's room, which after she said her goodnights walked in and locked her door. Kamek noticed a bed on one side of the room and immediately jumped into it. Tom took a bit more time to get into his, more concerned about Jeanette. He put his head against the wall trying to hear in to any conversation that might be happening in her room and whether or not anybody else is in there. He looked back at Kamek who had turned his duvet over aside to sleep. Then he could start to hear voices.

"We will go tomorrow night."

"Let me sleep."

"Don't go back into Mushroom City again. There's too much danger there."

"My son is there."

"He's not my son."

"And you're not his mother! His mother is gone! I have to raise him all myself, and certainly not anywhere here."

"I don't care about your son. I'm only here to save you from the impending doom that is government!"

"Say that to your council friends, I'm sure they want me saved too."

He heard quiet weeping from the other apartment. Tom walked over and opened the balcony door to see if it could help him hear what's being said. To his right, he saw Jeanette walk out onto her balcony. Her face was red with tears going down it; all he could see her do was stare into the horizon sadly. Tom was curious about the mention of the word 'council'. He was tempted to ask but instead he waited to see if she would notice him.

Jeanette soon turned to her left. "Why are you awake?" She cried, sobbing a bit more.

"I'll go and sleep shortly, why are you upset?" Tom counter-questioned. He made Jeanette look down in anxiety, knowing that he heard in to the conversation.

"Leave the man alone in there." She covered up her tears. "He's done nothing wrong but everyone wants him dead. All I have to do is get him so far north nobody will go after him." Tom examined Jeanette even more by looking at her in depth. She seemed confused.

"You're a member." He claimed. "You're doing this for peace."

"And for money." She laughed nervously.

"You don't have to risk your life for this, what did the others say?"

"There's not many of us left, many non-footmen. Archbarn and the gang said I should be killing him, but wise old Muji said do what I think is right. His father is gone and he was the one that did all the traitorous acts. All Koopak has is a large sum of money from it." Tom thought deeply in his head.

"That's why Peach wants him dead." He stated. "He has money."

"He is going to pay me 90% of his money if I get him beyond the northern lands safely."

"You won't be able to." Tom interrupted. "It's too dangerous, get him into the tournament."

"I'm not allowed." The voice of Koopak Asquia II came from the apartment room; the red-shelled Koopa also stepped out onto the balcony of their apartment. "We meet... for the first time, Mr. Tûnis."

"Yeah." Tom said awkwardly. "A lot of people want you for your money." He scratched his neck at the presence of Koopak.

"And I cannot go into the races, I sure as well would love to, it would also be a great way to go in the end, but I would get probably be killed by Princess Peach's army and they'll put on all the telegrams that I died in a 'tragic accident' or something." He moaned while trying to open his tired eyes fully.

"Understandable." Tom replied. "You're a lucky man to have Jeanette, a lovely Koopa, help you on your way to enlightenment." Koopak smirked, looking next to Jeanette. She looked back at him and smiled, but also tired.

"Maybe I could if I had security; I could check tomorrow and see."

"You're not going back there again! We need to go to Moo Moo Meadows to collect your supplies for your journey." Jeanette interrupted by sealing Koopak's mouth, she put on a worried face as she turned back to the apartment. "Time to sleep now, same with you, Tom." Jeanette and Koopak walked back into their apartment, going to sleep in the same double bed.

"I'm going to stay for a bit longer." Tom saw the two close their apartment door and do their curtains closed. He then did the same with his but stayed outside. The clouds in the sky started to clear while staring into the distance. The Moon was bright and halfway through its period in the sky. As he looked slightly below the moon, he caught a glimpse of several thicker clouds in the sky. Unusually, he noticed some green and brownish colours mixed with the clouds. Tom opened up the apartment door to search for a telescope or binoculars if there were any. He was very intrigued by the look of the figure in the sky; it reminded him of something he really enjoyed when he was younger, if only he could find a way to get there. Tom went back outside annoyed at the fact he couldn't find one inside the apartment without waking up Kamek. This then gave him only one choice: to warp dimensions back to Earth...

It was very early in the morning as he warped back to one of the three portals to the other worlds.

 **Bexley, England.**

He was in a tiny room filled with metal walls and a slanted roof, to his right however was a movable wall acting as a door to the room. On the other side showed complete darkness as it was still very late at night. He was in a school department office though it was familiar to him as he had been here many times before to get to and out of the other dimension. Tom walked over to a desk filled with books and writing tools that he was also familiar with, searching draws hoping to find binoculars he may have left here.

"A-ha. There they are." He said to himself as he found a pair in the bottom drawer of what looked like his desk. He shifted the wall again and closed himself back into the cramped metal-wall room, ready to warp back into the other dimension and back to the hotel.

It was already sunrise. Tom had only been gone for about two earth-minutes and the sun was already past the horizon in the sky. He could still see the thick clouds and green and brown colours in the same location as before. Thankfully nobody was awake yet as he appeared onto the balcony again. As he used the binoculars, he noticed that the green colours were vines and the brown colours appeared as old ships. He wondered what this could be, and how to get there as it had amazed him in a nostalgic sense. The sound of the moving door to the balcony startled Tom as Kamek appeared awake inside the apartment. Tom turned around shocked as he forgot Kamek was in the room as well.

"Have you been out here all night?" He asked interrogatingly at Tom, giving an unconvincing look back to him.

"I slept out here." Tom lied, also trying to hide the binoculars. "It was a warm night." He elaborated, trying to convince Kamek but his facial expression did not seem to change.

"Well, I think the others are awake." Kamek, knowing Tom was lying but unsure what he actually did, gave him information to keep up the conversation.

"They were here outside on their balcony at night as well. Jeanette and the other person in her apartment." He elaborated on his time outside at night. Kamek seemed to start believing Tom now as he walked onto the balcony and turned to his right, looking at the balcony of Jeanette and Koopak. The door looked unlocked, he finally believed him.

"Fair enough. I don't blame you guys, everything feels so different recently."

"I wonder why." Tom laughed. "There are so many shitty things happening all at the same time now. I need to find out what Bowser's up to at the moment. There are only a few days until the races are planned and begin. Full support I will give to him."

"I wonder myself if DK is awake, and what he's going to do. Don't you think he's been acting... different lately? He seems to be very unaware of everything going on at the moment."

"Wait until the races come around, he has to race and so he should really be practicing. Now all he is doing is following us around." Tom looked back up to the figure in the sky.

"Let's see him. He should be awake by now." Kamek walked towards the exit of the apartment, quickly opening the door to notice that the door opposite, to Donkey Kong's apartment was slightly left open.

"Why did you leave the door open?" Tom heard Kamek shout at DK from the other room.

"I went to get food." He replied quieter than Kamek. Tom was unable to hear anything else as he stayed back in his apartment. Shortly after, he heard his phone buzzing. He took it out of his pocket and noticed he was receiving a call from 'Luke Loggins'.

"Hey." Tom replied

"Hi. Where are you?"

"I'm at a small settlement outside Mushroom City, it's called Kalinka. Where are you?"

"I'm just outside Mushroom City coming on the road from Sirenna. Is it safe to go into Mushroom City?" Luke asked as he pulled up on the side looking at a map of The Mushroom Kingdom, spotting Kalinka on the northeast side of Mushroom City.

"No, definitely not, find a way round to us, we're at an apartment block but we'll go outside and see you." Luke paused for a short moment examining his map.

"There's a road that goes straight to Isle Port from here, why don't I see if the twins are available to meet up tonight as well."

"No." Tom interrupted just as Luke mentioned the word twins. "They won't be at their new house. I haven't seen them for a very long time and I don't think they're planning to come back here anytime soon. Just come round to meet us, we can't afford any more people being caught by the Toad Brigade or Police any time soon."

"I'll see you soon then." Luke hung up on the phone. Tom placed his phone back into his trouser pocket and walked out the apartment door, the voices of Kamek and DK seemed more identifiable now as he opened DK's apartment door widely to enter. He saw the two sitting outside on a further balcony to the other ones talking about what seemed to be their future. Their conversation came to a halt as Tom walked outside on to the balcony with them as well. Both Kamek and DK were sitting down on chairs but Tom awkwardly tried to find another chair nearby and didn't seem to see any, so instead he just rested his elbow onto the top of the balcony balusters.

"It seems like we are both worried about our future, Tom. As we've just realised what happens if Bowser loses." Kamek stated, looking depressed on his chair

"I have no wealth as well..." DK moaned also. "What's the plan? Meet at Mushroom City?"

"It's a viable idea." Tom agreed. "It's where all the other humans are going tonight."

"Bowser better be there." DK mentioned. "I need to talk to him about this, are people like us supposed to beat him as well?"

"It said the prize is all of Bowser's money. Which I know is millions of gold coins. Although I think the important award is being considered the best double-dash duo in history." Donkey Kong looked convinced and began to smile. "If Bowser wins he is set free so it's like going back to the old times."

"What old times?" Kamek interrupted. "The boring captures of the princess? Then we see an uprising in the north due to the evil-doers there? A war is brewing; I think it will happen literally as these races end." Tom's eyes twitched at that statement.

"You may be right, and more and more 'sides' in this war seem to be forming as time goes on. There are people in this world that if killed, will create a war simply like that. Peach, Bowser."

"Koopak Asquia." Kamek added. "All his followers would revolt."

"So the three richest people in the lands..." DK proclaimed. "Those deaths could start a war."

"What about Mario? What if he died?" Tom asked the two.

"Ha-ha." Donkey Kong giggled. "Pauline..." He dreamt in his head.

"I don't know." Kamek said whilst staring at DK dreaming. "Maybe, but I'm sure there is definitely going to be a war due to all of these disagreements. We need a new ruler or rulers in these lands that can unite everybody." Tom noticed in the distance a vehicle approaching the settlement, oddly driving off-road and rather slowly. He used his binoculars to see that it was Luke having trouble with the vehicle.

"Our ride is here; time to go into the city boys."

"What about Jeanette?" Kamek asked.

"She's got her own troubles, let's leave her be." Tom led the two outside by turning to go downstairs to the exit of the building. Jeanette, from her apartment door, stared at them before they turned to the stairs.

"Thank you." She whispered out loud...

 **EOC: This fanfic was finished shortly after I completed the other fanfics. Approximately October 2017, this gives you readers a guideline of my pace in the progress of these chapters. Races will be happening soon so stay in touch. If you have any questions or want to make more bets on who will win etc give me a review or PM me, and I'll get back to you.**

 **Also check my profile; it has a lot of information divided by topics so you can have a look at anything you're interested in.**

 **See you next time!**


	5. Peach and Daisy

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 5 – Peach and Daisy

 **A/N: This will be the first full chapter made after my rebirth in 2017, the date of the beginning of this fanfic is 23/10/2017.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't know Nintendo and its things. But I really do like the look of Odyssey.**

 **January 7, 2015 (1) – Sometime in the morning**

 **Cloudtop Cruise, somewhere in the Sky**

Brightness.

After lots of hectic difficulties trying to get here, Enrique stood on top of an old airship lying on the race track. It was difficult to maintain movement as the ship lay at an angle towards the direction of gravity. He slipped a few times on his way to the control system inside one of the ships. Next to the window of one of the ships lied a set of controls, with buttons and switches. Enrique looked at the text imprinted next to some of the switches and buttons, along with all of the other configurations for the race track.

"Race Enabled." Enrique pulled a lever directly above the words shown on the control system. He felt a light earthquake sound but no vibrations as he pulled the lever. The track did not seem to be affected as he looked out of the window until he saw at the bottom a gliding platform launcher lighting up and showing the blue lights and arrows pointing towards the dark set of clouds. The tiny lightning strikes also began to appear inside the dark area.

"Enable items." He pulled another lever and looked out of the ship window again. The item boxes began to appear on the track, floating around in a shiny blue colour. Now the track began to look interesting to race on.

"Enable coins." Enrique said again to himself as he looked at the next switch. He looked out of the window as he pulled that lever and the coins started to appear as well.

"Enable gravitational system." He flicked the fourth switch, which caused a colourful vibration to appear across the track. It lit up, especially in the dark cloud area and on the other ship where the light clouds led to on the race from a ramp.

Enrique now came across the buttons. The first one read 'Activate Lakitu Security' but was unable to be pressed as a further message inside the button read 'No Lakitus Detected.'

"Hmm." He said to himself as he examined the other buttons which then led to more switches.

'Activate Tricks'

'Activate Buoyancy' "For the bouncing platforms it seems."

'Emergency Stop' Enrique didn't press any of the buttons but instead moved over to the next set of levers. The first one he saw had text to the left reading 'number of players', a key input at the bottom of it and a key left loosely inside the lock, and a small digital screen showing the number '7'. Enrique pulled the lever down, watching the number on the digital screen decrease singularly down to 2. He then pulled the lever back up and the number ascended to 12. He was amazed at the system in his head, though his facial expression covered up his excitement.

Enrique looked back down to the key loosely inside the input. He held the key and placed it in firmly and turned it to the right, a digital sound played and he noticed the number on the screen switched to 16. He tried pulling the lever down again with the key inside but nothing changed on the screen. He flicked it up instead and the number changed to 32.

"Interesting." He thought in his head as he realised what they key was for, a preliminary add-on to the race track if it was selected in the future races. Oddly enough the entire track and its surrounding areas were empty, now he could see what it's like to race on the course. The final lever on the right side of the control system was 'Time Trial Mode', when he pulled the lever all of the items on the track disappeared. He decided to switch the lever back off to re-enable the items. His interest depicted the want of having the items back on the track just so he could see how they work.

Enrique has had little experience in driving on tracks. However, he does know how to drive a normal vehicle. As he got out of the ship with the control system he rushed over towards the ship area of the track and landed onto the black ramps after jumping down. The gravity system changed and he adapted to standing directly straight on the slanted track path. He could see brown barrels scattered across the track as well, perhaps containing something good or bad but of interest. Enrique approached one of them and kicked it, breaking the barrel and revealing the typical faced banana landing slightly further away that the barrel's original location. This made Enrique think that the push force of breaking the barrel affects the distance the object inside travels forward. He grinned, approaching the banana, trying to pick it up. But instead, as he touched it the banana spun up in the air causing Enrique to slip and spin in a circle before making him trip up and collapse down to the ground again. He sighed in thought, noticing the banana had disappeared. This only made him eager to investigate more. He turned to his body to the left, looking at the coins that lay out on the track followed by items. Attracted to the coins, he got up and dashed towards them, intrigued at their use in the races. Just before approaching he halted to look down on it, the golden coin spun and bounced hovering over the ground. Enrique squatted by the coin and attempted to move his hand over it to collect it. Instead, his hand phased through it, making no proper interaction with the coin. He sighed, and then walked over to the item blocks. These two were hovering and rotating, with the question mark always facing his vision, he tried moving around an item block to notice that the question mark always faced his vision no matter what side he was staring at the block. Inside he felt amazed and interested with joy; his adrenaline from the amazement forced him to swipe his hand to collect the block.

It was successful, the block shattered, revealing a randomised item in his hand, changing and changing and changing from banana, to shell, to star, to POW block... "POW Block?" He thought. "But those were from years ago? Why are they in Cloudtop Cruise?" He said in his head. The item stopped and eventually revealed a red shell. It looked exactly like the ones in the game he thought, full of detail. It was hollow with a white inlay around the red and the cream coloured bottom to it. Enrique attempted to throw it onto the floor like he was deploying it during a race. This caused it to speed off and travel up the gravity ramp past the cannon and into the dark lightning area, disappearing from his vision.

Enrique picked up another item. It shuffled along, changing and changing eventually giving him three mushrooms. Now he was confused, how would these work without a kart? He tried throwing one onto the floor, with the other two still in his hand, but the mushroom just lied facing upward on the floor. Then he decided to grab one, it disappeared. Nothing happened. He grabbed the second one in his hand and then did the same to the third one on the floor. As he looked up he noticed the item blocks again.

*piano-resembling sounds*

A star.

"Haha!" He yelled, grabbing it and turning multicoloured. He noticed his body flash brightly as the tune of acquiring a star was played. He noticed the red shell coming back around in the circuit heading straight towards him. Enrique, with increased speed dashed towards the red shell causing it to collide and disappear.

"Ha, I so want to race now!" He said happily, running back to play around with more item boxes.

*piano-resembling sounds*

Blue shell...

"Eh heheh." He sweated, noticing it was idle in his hand. Now he was completely scared at what it could do. Tempted to make a risk, Enrique wanted to throw it to see what it could do but at the same thought he would expect it to go for him if nobody else was around. He walked slowly back along to the ramp leading to the ship in the circuit of Cloudtop Cruise and tried to climb up going along the circuit backwards, being very careful not to drop the blue shell and set it loose. Now he walked along thick clouds and vines, en route back to the start line. The only thing stopping him now is the obligatory bounce at the start which separated him from the giant vine path at the start.

"Oh for hell's sake." Enrique lobbed the blue shell in the air, instead of going straight for him as he expected, it sped back along the circuit in the air using its wings and back around to the ship, heading straight into the dark lightning area. He turned his head along the dark clouded area and watched the blue shell speed out of the other side of it. Right before the exit he saw it stop and slam onto a kart randomly left out on the track. The kart flipped in the air after the blue shell exploded, landing upright and normal. This made Enrique willing to use that kart, but he was aware that he was split off by a Bowser-themed Bouncer platform. He remembered that he did not press the button to enable Buoyancy, assuming that he would not bounce upward on the platform, Enrique leapt onto the platform, falling onto it safely and firmly on it. He got up and attempted a second jump back onto the vines. He noticed that this was very dangerous without any Lakitus to save those who fall... after he completed his second jump. Now the kart was in walking distance to Enrique. As he approached it, he examined the kart, resembling a suitable Standard Kart M, just the right size for him. However it included an extra add-on to the vehicle, it had a seat at the back. Perhaps for another player? He thought as he got into the vehicle.

"Now let's see how this thing works again." He said confidently readying up the vehicle to go.

"I wouldn't recommend it here, Enrique." A feminine voice out of nowhere advised from behind. He turned his head. It was Rosalina in her turquoise dress.

"You've missed a lot recently." He complained at her presence, she flew down walking towards him with a happy look. "In fact, have we even met since 2010?" She ignored his question and walked around the vehicle to the front of it.

"Where did you find this vehicle?" She counter-questioned.

"That means no." Enrique, who knew a lot about Rosalina, had not actually encountered her in person ever since she took him to this world. "It was right here." He answered.

"Well, this course is definitely not a safe one to do without any Lakitus to save you from falling. Because, you know, you're definitely going to fall off. You want to race in the races?" She asked, inspecting the vehicle.

"Well, it would be fun. And hey! I'm not rubbish, I won't fall off!"

"Oh really?" She smirked

"Really, I'll show you!" He readied up his kart, about to speed off.

"Stop! Why would you drive now, you've set this circuit up horribly! You forgot to turn Buoyancy on, and if you're going to practice at least select Time Trial Mode." She complained. "Stay there." Rosalina launched herself magically in the air and flew towards the ship with the control system inside. Enrique noticed the bounce platforms began to inflate slightly, and the item boxes disappeared from the track. Rosalina came back to the start line where his vehicle was placed.

"Don't fall off." She smiled. "Wait a second, get out of the kart." She got down on the right side of the vehicle and stuck her hand underneath, flicking a switch.

"It's at 150cc now." She grinned at Enrique.

"We have a lot to talk about." He got back into the car and pointed his finger at Rosalina interrogatingly, soon driving off. She watched him disappear and onto the track slowly...

...

"How did I do?" Enrique said happily coming back to the start line where Rosalina was.

"That was terrible! You took two minutes! We do a lap on average in one!" She moaned as he stopped his kart. "You didn't perform any tricks, nor did you do any proper drifting. I'm not even going to talk about fire hopping."

"I didn't fall off though and that's all I was trying to prove, so your fault there." Enrique joked around while Rosalina pulled a straight face. "And plus, how are you going to fire hop when you're racing in double-dash format?" She facepalmed.

"Everyone's going to beat you and whoever you're with. Do you know any new racers?"

"I had a list of all of them back at Peach's Castle. It was like 9, Toadbert and Toadsworth. 10, Hammer Bro and Fire Bro. 11, Funky Kong and Cranky Kong."

"Oh dear, Funky Kong." Rosalina moaned. Enrique kept talking.

"12, Shy Guy and Lakitu. 13, King Boo and Petey and 14, Dry Bones and Kamek."

"Seems like quite a difficult roster for you, especially when I appear in it."

"Trust me, Tom's probably going to be the driver, he can drift properly and perform tricks. I'm only here in the case where I need to drive."

"And have you talked to Tom about this?" Enrique was left speechless.

"We will talk about it. If I can find him after this, I haven't seen him for a couple days now." He eventually replied. "But we will sign up, there's two spaces left last time I was told. Bowser signed up everybody at Peach's castle. Why don't you sign up?" He suggested.

"I want to!" She yelled back. "But I don't know who to go with, nobody else is good enough." She joked and then laughed. "But seriously, who is there, do you know?" Enrique thought.

"What about your brother?" Rosalina wondered.

"You know he is really good as well, I remember he qualified for the sixth tournament, you know the one where they introduced tricks, and 12 racers, but then he was disqualified... So no to that, can't trust him."

"Dry Bowser?"

"What? What's Dry Bowser?"

"Nevermind."

"Who else?"

"Pauline?" Rosalina froze, confusing Enrique. "That's a good suggestion, I think she has karted before, but she will have to know how to bike. We'll be racing in my modified Twinkle Star, it's large enough for both of us and she would need to have a biker outfit weaved for her. Any place I can find her?"

"Donk City?"

"Where's that?"

"Delfino somewhere I think."

"Well I'm going to find her then. Before I leave, there's some things that you'll need to get familiar with in your kart, I'm guessing you'll use this one for it." She leaned over into the kart and pointed at some contraptions near the pedals. There was a button underneath press-able using the left leg which she pointed to.

"This button raises your kart, it allows you to drift, and whatever the way you're turning the wheel will make you drift in that direction. Don't mess up when doing so, and don't annoy Tom too. And do not practice here or you will fall off." She boosted herself up into the air again. "We will talk again." She said before flying away.

"How can I get down from here?" He called.

"I've called a Lakitu to come and collect you and you're kart. You'll be dropped on the open fields to the southeast." She disappeared beyond hearing distance. The remark she gave was triggering, but Enrique just sat in the kart and put his feet up waiting for a Lakitu...

Any minute now...

"Good morning there sir, want a lift down?" A Lakitu appeared in front of Enrique's vision after a couple hours of waiting. Enrique, who was just sleeping, woke up in his kart, noticing the Lakitu. His eyes were half closed and his legs still on the front of the kart, but he began to stretch his limbs as if he wasn't paying full attention.

"Ah!" He was startled at the Lakitu.

"Sorry I'm late." The Lakitu apologised. "I've been new to the Mushroom Kingdom and I'm not used to helping up others in my cloud."

"Don't worry." Enrique said quietly. "I've had a good nap."

"My name's Jagem, do you want me to lift you down?"

"Sure." Lakitu approached the standard kart with Enrique inside. "Wait a minute." He stopped Jagem. "Jagem? I've heard news about you." The Lakitu didn't seem to care and carried on with the lifting. "No, I'm serious. You know Koopak right?"

"I used to, he befriended us by not telling us all his secrets, couldn't trust the guy. Bethel always had a soft side for him."

"Did you just say Bethel Koopa?" Enrique asked with excitement, he hadn't heard of that name in years.

"Yep."

"Where was he last?" Lakitu began to descend downwards below the clouds.

"At Wuhu volcano where the rest of us were, New Year's Day. About a week ago." Enrique laughed. "I think he might've died in battle there, I don't know for sure."

"WHAT?" Enrique's expression became opposite. "Not him!"

"Why?" Jagem monotonously asked.

"He was a good friend of mine too, many years back. Back when I first came here actually." Enrique worried as they descended. "I want to see him again one day."

"If you're his friend you'd know that he's always in a different location around the world."

"Yeah I know. I'll find a way." The kart eventually approached the ground, it was on an open meadow with path on the edge, Mushroom City lies a couple miles northeast, and the district of Sirenna lies just at the end of the meadow to the east.

"So do you guys do this kind of stuff during the races?" Enrique asked before Jagem would soon disappear.

"No, those ones are bots of us that do that job. What we do now is offer forms of transport for those using the cloud faces, or simply throw red spike shells at Mario and co. Not recently though. It explains why we got _the_ Lakitu in the races last year. I heard he's going to be racing this time too, with Shy Guy. They'll have a lot of fans." He stated.

"I agree." Enrique nodded. "Lots of people will have lots of fans. Bowser and his son will have fans, The Kongs will have fans, Peach and Daisy will have thousands of fans, Koopa and Paratroopa, Hammer and Fire Bro."

"Those two are racing?"

"Yeah ha."

"Amazing! That will liven up the competition. Who else?"

"Well, Dry Bones and Kamek are racing. Do you think they'll have fans?"

"Many, the main Koopa crowds love them too.

"There are two Kong teams, Funky and Cranky."

"Funky Kong is going to wreck, I assure you." Jagem said rather proudly. "They'll have fans."

"There are the Mario brothers, Wario brothers."

"More fans."

"Yoshi and Birdo."

"Yoshi fans."

"Toad and Toadette."

"Toad fans."

"Toadbert and Toadsworth." Jagem paused.

"Those two? I don't think they'll have a lot of fans." He wondered.

"Perhaps, they will have some, but not many." The two agreed.

"King Boo and Petey?"

"Many fans, spooky fans haha." Enrique ran out of who to think of.

"There's 14 confirmed so far." He said, waiting to tell Jagem his desire to become part of the grand tournament. "Maybe a friend of mine and I are planning to sign up, too." Jagem laughed out of spite, followed by a smirk.

"I got told Rosalina wants to join with a friend of hers, that would be it all set then? As for you, I don't know if you'll have fans." Jagem thought while chilling on his cloud. He untied the rod from the kart so it was stably down on to the floor.

"There's a couple days left anyway."

"Indeed there are, I will see you soon maybe, I hope you're ready for it!" Jagem waved goodbye and flew away quickly.

"I've got to find Bowser." Enrique said to himself before driving onwards north, heading to the mountain range to see if he could get access to Bowser's Castle.

 **Peach's Castle (Fixed) – Around the same time**

Peach and Daisy turned into the dormitory, which had been refurbished and sealed up by the Toads working in the castle all night. Mario and Luigi approached them from behind, overly tired.

"Me and-a Luigi are gonna crash out in the spare room."

"We-a very tired from all the hard work from helping others last night." The two slowly mouldered out of the area while Peach said nothing staring at them. All the toads working in the room began to walk out after they sealed the window, all the dust and glass fragments were cleared from the floor and it was safe to stay in the room now. All the maps had been put safely onto the shelves, but some of them have been damaged, there were no usable maps of the North. The two rushed into the room quickly closing the door behind them as the last Toad left and locked the door.

"What is the plan for this then Peach?" Daisy asked as she sat herself down on one of the chairs next to the main table.

"Listen up, I need to send a global broadcast to address every contender so far to meet at the main square of Toad Town, at a time most convenient when there are no other non-racers nearby, this message needs to go out to the other two teams we are still waiting for. I am not sure who they are yet but we have many scholars who have the 14 others confirmed. Toadsworth, being a racer only has the knowledge of how the races will be decided so far, there was a message sent to him this morning about it. Everybody must also show up on the 10th with their double-dash suited vehicle. Those who have not got one already must see the mechanics in the city that can make one vehicle of their request within 24 hours of asking. Since we already have our super Mach Bike we don't need to worry about this. Toadsworth and Toadbert have a larger version of the Concerto I reckon." Peach cleared the table in front of both of them and unravelled a huge map of all the southern lands. "Everybody here is going to be a spectator, they will be cheering for at least one team out of those selected and we have to design the points system as well."

"Tell me how the races are going to be selected." Daisy asked. Peach stretched her hands before lecturing again.

"The 10th is going to be a very busy day. I will retell everybody racing how the points will be allocated. There will be 32 races, 32 racers. This means that everybody gets to choose one race. You can choose your race by that day." Daisy smiled after that sentence. "All those races will be put in to a seed, though my race will be first and Bowser's will be last. This means the first race is Mushroom City, we will have to clear the roads for that one. Additionally, for the first race there will be a random allocation of where everybody starts, then for each race after that the first place starts the next race first and the same applies to every other position." Peach pressed a button signalling an alarm throughout the castle. Several Toad servants rushed up and arrived outside the door. "I have a message to send." Peach addressed to Daisy as she got up and walked over to the large door.

" _My Toads, I have a message to give to the world, specifically the racers, please meet at the Mushroom Square at Toad Town at 10am, on the 10_ _th_ _, and tell them to bring their karts, if they have not been told already._ " The toads bowed and dashed down the corridor and out of Peach's vision. She looked back at Daisy, who was trying to hold in a laugh while cracked up on her chair.

"This is going to be fun!" She cheered.

"Indeed." Peach walked back into the room and walked over towards her cabinet. "Anyone else who wants to join the races have to speak to me or Bowser now, and he's probably back in his castle."

"You know we're missing a very important person in these races, Peach."

"Who's that person?"

"Rosalina." Peach stopped as she got to her cabinet and looked around to Daisy.

"You're right!" She agreed. "If she can find someone however... That's what she needs to do. Anyway, we have more important stuff to deal with right now." Daisy moved her chair towards the centre table and looked at the giant map. Peach walked back to the table and brought a chair over as well. Afterwards, she instead went over to the shelves and selected any possible maps of the north she could find. The only one that she managed to find was a rail map of all the stations in the lands, surveying hundreds of towns including some northern ones. Peach shoved the large south map aside and placed it on to the table. Annoyingly the sides of it rolled up again like a scroll, so both of them tried to flatten it out.

"Bare with me Daisy." Peach said as she walked back to the cabinet.

"Don't tell me you're having champagne at this hour." Daisy grinned.

"No, no." Peach laughed. "I'm just getting some old place mats to keep the map flat." She returned to the table placing the mats on the corners of the giant map, now lay a large scale-printed view of Muhu Delfethal and the minor outlying islands with only the towns of each rail station implemented on. "This is not very helpful." Peach stated as she examined the map, looking carefully especially at the north as many towns in the north do not have rail access. "The north is becoming a concern again. Especially to do with these northwestern areas, I feel as if they're going to plot a violent attack on us during the races." She moved towards the top end of the table, where Résethal was closest, and placed her white-gloved hands on to the table, pointing around various northwestern places. Soon after attempting to read upside down, she pointed onto two areas connected by the rail system. Two familiar towns: Dargo and Marukh.

"You know what I mean when I say 'hostiles' right?" Peach looked up at Daisy as she was focusing her eyes on Sarasaland to the south. She looked back at Peach and nodded, then walked around the table to stand next to Peach. "There are several towns here which are full of the evil-doers and the ones that want me dead. The last time I heard from the Red Martyr council they have been at war ever since we got Tom and Enrique in to this world. In between the 10th and the first race I need to travel back to Aypyidaw to meet with some of the people there to see if we can address this problem. It can be worse than I think as well." Peach continued, following with a sigh, unsure on her plan with the north in relation to the races. She began to realise that she cannot block off the north from viewing some of the competition. Knowing Koopa Troopa he would select Koopa Cape or Koopa Beach, both of these race tracks lie on the eastern coast of Résethal, near Urscan.

"What's the nearest race track from Dargo and Marukh then? Or any nearby town associated with Hostiles?" Daisy asked as Peach went over to the cupboards on the other side of the room to get a thick pen marker. She walked back to the giant map and drew an area containing the two cities and any other dangerous towns that were nearby.

"The nearest race track is probably... shit..." Peach dropped her face onto the map. "Wario Colosseum..." Daisy sunk her head onto the table as well.

"That place is underground, and it has a good audience capacity too, you know so many northerners are going to watch that one." She stated as Peach was still moaning with her face on the map. Suddenly, she shot right back up but with an evil look on her face.

"Let it happen, I don't want to be a killjoy out of it, just up the security as Enrique said. This upcoming war is irreversible and it's best if we outweigh them monetarily." She laughed tyrannically. "Let's start making those tickets!"

"But how are we able to when we don't even know what races are being chosen?" Daisy asked, lifting her head up from the table.

"Good point, I will format a copy and just change the name of the race track, then we can get all the Toad workers in the Kingdom to start producing the tickets. We need to make sure that we make enough for the capacity of each race. Start a base price for a ticket to be 2 gold coins, in that specific currency, the banks will be busy this week!" Peach jumped around excited. "Oh I just remembered; I'm going to release the prisoners now so they can collect their vehicles and race choices. Follow me Daisy!" She jumped with joy out of the room, Daisy rushed behind her holding her dress up.

"You know, I wouldn't mind changing in to some better clothes now, like my biker outfit!"

 **Donk City, Far North Delfino**

 **12:00PM, January 7**

The bright sun shined on the Pianta citizens throughout the town, many of them decided to sit outside their cafés and rest in the shade so they didn't sweat as much. Lots of drinks were spilled as Piantas gasped at Rosalina who came rushing through the town, in search for Pauline. She came across a large building with a fancy red carpet at the entranceway. Rosalina looked up and inspected any of the windows to see if she could find Pauline. Perhaps she was performing Rosalina thought as she hurried in to the building. As soon as she headed through the main door she bumped into a Toad carrying boxes of CDs, causing him to fall over and drop all of the topped boxes on to the floor.

"Argh!"

"I'm so sorry." Rosalina apologised to the angry Toad.

"Watch where you're going you big lady!" He complained. Rosalina rushed to the floor to pick up the boxes all in one.

"Where do they all go?" The Toad was startled.

"Over there." He pointed to a cupboard at the end of the right corridor. Rosalina rushed ahead carrying the boxes carefully and placed them all inside quickly, then she smiled back at the less-angry Toad. "Well, thank you." He said smoothly.

"You're welcome." Rosalina replied kindly. "Do you know where I might be able to find Pauline?" The Toad scratched his mushroom head.

"Last time I saw her, she was leaving to take a train north. To that embassy town I don't remember the name."

"Aypyidaw. Thanks." She said quietly as she headed out of the building.

"What?" The Toad misheard as Rosalina brushed past him, he spun around and stared at her in confusion. "Cosmic people." He scratched his mushroom head more. She quickly exited the building and turned to her right to look at the direction signs. Donk City station was a couple roads away on the northwest edge of town.

As she finally reached the station, she came across a notice board showing the platforms and their destinations.

 **2 min – Delfino Capital (D) – P1**

 **3 min – Donut Plains (M) – P4**

 **4 min – Aypyidaw Station (R) – P3**

 **12 min – Uldersal Station (D) – P2**

It was an annoying four minute wait for the train at the station. Rosalina sat down on a seat along platform 3. She looked across to see many Piantas and Toads on platform 4, waiting for a train to Donut Plains. Behind her was platform 2 with a couple of Piantas and Goombas waiting patiently there and across the rail lines there was platform 1, filled with Toads, Koopas and Piantas. Rosalina looked back along her platform and saw nobody else waiting. Perhaps the fright and danger of the north scared many citizens from ever taking a train to Aypyidaw. The sound of a train came past behind her; the train for Delfino Capital arrived at the Donk City station. It was packed already, with even more citizens boarding on to the train to fill up all the capacity before heading out and turning south. As that one left a train emerged from what looked like where the train to Aypyidaw would be going. The leftward exit of the platform seemed like a dark cave that was the underground mountain route northwards as the train tracks curved that way. The train on platform 4 in front of Rosalina was mostly empty, she only spotted about 4 Koopas amongst all 6 carriages of that train, and most were sitting alone. She could tell at least one of those Koopas is hostile. As the train went out of the station eastwards there was nobody left on that platform, all had got on to the train and none of the northern Koopas got off at this station. Slightly backing up Rosalina's thought on those Koopas being hostile.

The train to Aypyidaw appeared from the east, Rosalina looked around once again to see nobody else was boarding her train. As it stopped, every Toad and Pianta got off and most Koopas and Goombas exited as well, only a few remained inside the train as Rosalina got on the second carriage from the front. She noticed most of the Piantas and Toads who got off stare at her, most likely because she _is_ Rosalina, boarding a train. As her comet observatory was far up on the edge of the atmosphere and no Lumas nearby, she had no choice other than to take the train to Aypyidaw hopefully to see Pauline. She thought maybe she would bump into any familiar faces such as Muji whilst she is there. The train had left the station and the outside light disappeared as it went into the darkness of the cave to Aypyidaw. The speed of the train picked up rapidly through the cave.

 _The next station is: Aypyidaw, via Résethal Tunnel C._

 _This train terminates at the next stop. For any additional information about journeys onward, please check the assistance found at the next station._

The automated speakers indicated the soon arrival of the train at Aypyidaw Station. Rosalina noticed light that was not bulbs from the train coming from the end of the cave, the train quickly sped into the brightness and she began to see the view of the surrounding areas. She was amazed; the shadows of the steep mountains created a nice dark green of the flat untouched grass that surrounded the area. The trees were tall and full of leaves and sun created a shimmering light onto the rails ahead as they left the shade. It made Rosalina question why these lands are considered dangerous when they look so much like Toad Town. To her right she saw meadows with goats roaming freely, and to the left she saw rocks hatched in to the ground as well as more grass and trees. The scenery that did catch her eye the most was a surprise being train tracks going westwards. She wondered if the tracks led to perhaps another cave tunnel going to Wuhu, or tracks leading to far west Résethal.

The train slowed down as it approached the termination at Aypyidaw. Rosalina was eager to look at the train times to see any particular towns that might be of interest. Aypyidaw Station seemed much larger than Donk City Station, so maybe there would be lots of interesting places to find out about. As she got out of the train she noticed she got off of at Platform 6, another thing she noticed to help fuel her interest. She noticed that Aypyidaw Station was very quiet; only about 10 Koopas were in her view when she looked towards the big open area that was the station. She noticed a sign indicating the exit of the station and the way to the main town of Aypyidaw, most likely where Pauline would be but before she left she turned her head to see the large board showing all the trains.

 **7 min – Castelia Station (R) – P4**

 **15 min – Northfells via Konhip (R) – P1**

 **19 min – North Wuhu Port (W) – P8**

 **29 min – Mushroom City (M) – P6**

"Mushroom City?" She yelled loudly in her mind. "Just what I need! I've got to find Pauline." Rosalina dashed out of the station heading towards the main town. She followed a brick road which led her directly round to the other entrance into main Aypyidaw. It felt very familiar, an open interior surrounded by tall buildings and large thick white walls. Koopas and Toads walked freely while council fighters would be training with their weapons. Her main objective now was to head through the main council building to see if Pauline would be there. As she went through the main doors she re-lived a moment she had about an hour ago, bumping into yet another person. This time without any boxes, and it was the recognisable Muhu Delfethal human: Ledro Simpson. She fell on to the floor this time.

"Everything ok there, Rosalina?" Ledro offered his hand to help her up. She grabbed and pretended to pull her weight up but magically levitated herself upright instead. "You came here quickly, what news do you bring?" He said joyfully.

"Thank you, I was told Pauline would be here." She mentioned to Ledro, who looked baffled.

"Of course! She's a little busy though. There's a discussion going on with her, Muji and Archbarn, apparently a member of the council is with Koopak the Second!" He replied happily, Rosalina smiled at his response before realising that she was busy.

"Oh wait I need to see her now." She blurted back at Ledro. "It's very important."

"Well she's through that door." He pointed towards the council meeting room doors. "Her agenda is also important but for a woman of your status, your message must be just as if not even more important."

"Thank you." Rosalina said again, quickly opening the doors revealing conversation of the three people Ledro mentioned before disappearing off behind her. They all turned their heads towards Rosalina and stopped their conversation.

"Rosalina, nice of you to come here." Archbarn walked over to greet.

"It looks like you've come from afar." Muji stated, also walking over to shake hands.

"What's the matter?" Pauline smiled as she asked. Rosalina walked around the centre table towards her, about to inform her on the idea of being part of the races. Rosalina and Pauline do know each other, though they are not best of friends like Peach and Daisy are and she does not know Pauline that much, so she hesitated for a short moment before finally speaking.

"I bring news from the south, about the races. I know all of the teams." The three looked at Rosalina amazed and eager to find out.

"Let's hear it!" Muji bellowed, sitting down on one of the chairs. Archbarn rushed to the chair next to Muji waiting to listen as well.

"That's great! I wonder who the other teams are." Pauline sat down next to Rosalina.

"Well." She said anxiously. "I came across word on the new teams and it is pretty much all set."

"Wait a minute." Archbarn got out of his chair and rushed over to a shelf at the back at the room. He got himself a pencil and a large piece of paper with the original 8 teams already written on it. "Tell me the names." He said.

"Well." Rosalina gulped. "Team 9 is Toadbert and Toadsworth."

"That's pretty interesting." Muji thought as Archbarn scribbled the names down below the rest.

"10, is Hammer Bro and Fire Bro."

"Amazing." Archbarn stated while scribbling.

"11, is Funky Kong and Cranky Kong."

"That is what I call competition." Muji laughed.

"Haha yeah, 12 is Shy Guy and Lakitu."

"All these people are very popular; I would love to see them all in action!" Pauline seemed amazed as Rosalina looked back at her face.

"13, King Boo and Petey."

"Whoa. Scary." Archbarn mentioned.

"14, Dry Bones and Kamek." Rosalina began to sweat awkwardly about to mention her request to Pauline. "The last two teams are yet to be confirmed. But I know who they are." There was a period of silence afterwards; everybody stared at Rosalina as she stood quietly.

"Well, who are they then?" She heard, staring off to the table in front of her. Rosalina looked up and turned her head towards Archbarn and Muji.

"Tom and Enrique will be playing most likely, as the 15th team." Muji and Archbarn's eyes widened, they turned their heads and stared at each other.

"YES, HAHA!" The two jumped in the air with joy, excited at hearing the news. Rosalina and Pauline both looked at them confused. "We knew it would happen!" They both cheered for a bit longer, and they then slowly relaxed back down on to their chairs.

"The last team?" Archbarn asked before grinning at Muji again. Rosalina then turned her head towards Pauline, who noticed and appeared shocked.

"That's why I came here looking for you." Rosalina said sweetly to Pauline. She grabbed her hand tightly. "I want you to race with me Pauline; we can beat them all, together." Pauline opened her mouth in amazement, though Rosalina could tell from the look on her face that she wasn't directly up to it. Pauline, speechless, turned her head towards Muji and Archbarn who also looked amazed.

"No, you join her." Muji pointed his finger towards her in command, stopping Pauline from beginning to speak. "We will have this Jeanette issue covered. You can count on us."

"Who's Jeanette?" Rosalina asked.

"She was a member of this council, but she broke a vow by falling in love with Koopak himself, now she serves him and is helping him get out of this world alive. Koopak's minions still cause havoc in their hometown in Delfino and must be stopped! I knew he would never sign up to those races." Archbarn lectured after finishing up on the list of names. "There." He pointed. "16, Rosalina and Pauline, go and see Peach or Bowser about that now."

"What are we racing in? I'm good at throwing items not so much on the driving part so it's better if you do that." Pauline finally spoke to Rosalina.

"That's not a problem; we need to journey back to Mushroom City because I think it's best if we stay there until a week's time when the first race begins. I have re-modified my Twinkle Star so we can use that, trust me on this one."

"Will I need biker gear?"

"It will be made for you once we sign up. We must hurry now, there's a train to Mushroom City that is going to leave soon. We will take it all the way and meet with Peach and Daisy there." Pauline grinned mischievously, getting up from her chair.

"I guess we are departing now then!" She smiled, giving Archbarn and Muji a big hug before heading towards the door outside.

"Best of luck to you both, and to Tom and Enrique, we'll sure be watching them, just as long as the business up northwest is not as bad as we hope." The two waved to Rosalina and Pauline as they went outside, heading back to Aypyidaw station. All of the Koopas and Toads who were training began to stare back at the two as they rushed gracefully in their dresses to the station.

"Platform 6, it leaves in 2 minutes." Rosalina pointed to the board as they rushed over to get on the closest, but last carriage of the train. They sat opposite eachother next to the window with the sun shining brightly down on the lands.

"Now please tell me what exactly we do when we arrive." Pauline asked, looking very intrigued, resting her head on her arms on the side table in front of her.

"The plan is we sign ourselves up for the races and we seek further instructions. Peach is mostly managing it so she will tell us things such as which race tracks and in which order, the point system. I have my bike stored at a place not far from the castle I can collect that tomorrow morning. We will be seeing many familiar faces soon, so don't get caught by DK." Rosalina joked, making the two of them laugh.

 _This is the Platform 6 service to: Mushroom City. Via: Donk City, North Downs, Allam Junction, Uldersal, Munhraw, Seven Farms, Sarasaland, Takhor, and Mushroom City. Change at Seven Farms or Sarasaland for trains to: Noki Bay and Delfino Capital._

The speakers on the train sounded seconds before the train moved to depart.

"I'm so excited to competitively race again, it's been a while." Pauline mentioned while smiling, looking out of the window as the platform disappeared from her view. "It would be so much fun seeing all the best racers around, with your skill we're sure to win."

Rosalina laughed. "We'll see."

 **EOC: This chapter was very enjoyable to write and seems quite necessary to be implemented. We will soon see the heartbreaks of those who wished to be part of the races soon. The idea of having these specific racers was to have as much Canon / Main Characters as possible, thus assembling people from all around the world to take part in Bowser's Last Request and a chance to win all his millions of coins.**

 **No need for a 2017/2018 Update because we've caught up in time now. Remember, any questions feel free to review or PM. FAQ answers and interesting lore could also be found on my profile so check that out for a read.**

 **See you next time!**


	6. Congregation

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 6 – Congregation

 **A/N: I've had lots of messages from people concerning how to format all of the races and display them on some sort of spreadsheet. As a side idea I've been working on something similar to it but I cannot upload it to Fanfiction as it is not exactly a story. Please note that from when the first race begins (January 15), each next race occurs every other day from then, and perhaps in every other chapter. Also the dates in which things occur can be seen as confusing but they are always dated so keep an eye out on those as it would be very confusing to put things chronologically.**

 **January 6, 7:00PM**

 **Northeast Mushroom City**

Rations.

Donkey Kong was eager to return back to his Jungle, but instead he sat around all day watching the others do what they chose while in the city. From the vehicle he was lounging in, he noticed Kamek approaching to get back into the back of the car. He had a smile on his face and a piece of paper in his hand.

"Apparently all the teams who are signing up were told to meet back at Peach's Castle." Kamek spoke happily. "Dry Bones called me; he's at the castle now putting us in." Donkey Kong stretched and gave a slow clap.

"Did you buy any food?" He asked back, judging Kamek by his empty pockets. "I'm starving."

"Ah." Kamek beckoned. "Tom's still out with Luke buying food." DK slouched around as Kamek entered the back seat, making him have to move around and adjust his large body in his seat. Tom had appeared with Luke behind him, throwing a bag of bananas onto Donkey Kong's lap.

"People are meeting at Peach's Castle for the races." Kamek mentioned to Tom and Luke as they got into the vehicle. As they seated themselves Tom looked towards Luke to see his opinion. He looked back at Tom confused. "What? I'm not a racer, but you are."He said. Tom looked back at Kamek, noticing he had a sheet of paper probably related to it.

"What's that in your hand?" Tom asked, quickly receiving the paper from Kamek's hand. "What is it?"

"A message given to me while I was in town, about meeting Peach at Peach's castle to sign up, what if your friend is there?" Tom read the message, clearly written by Peach.

"He wouldn't sign us up, but I would if I was there."

Luke started the car and drove off into the main areas of Mushroom City.

"Let's go to Peach's castle then." Tom said, pointing directions to the next left onto the main road. From far away on the road they could see the view of the castle, rising high up and within Toad Town, as they drove on they began to slow down as they noticed more and more citizens on the pavement, increasing as they got closer to the castle. A few hundred metres ahead of them on the road the road became blocked by crowds on the street. The four in the car noticed torches being held by some of the Toads and Koopas, and the volume of the crowds got louder as they noticed them chanting like a giant angry mob.

"Stop the car." Tom patted Luke as he slowed down greatly to a stop. "Stay in the car you two." He said referring to Kamek and DK in the back seats. Tom and Luke got out of the car and tried to get a closer look on what was happening. Still carrying his binoculars by a strap, Tom got onto the roof of their car and used them to get a closer look. He saw the entrance of Peach's castle being defended by the Toad Brigade and Police forces, armoured up with shields as there was a split between them and what looked like a riot force with pitch forks and torches composed of Toads, Koopas and Piantas alike. Behind the defending brigade were more armoured Toads, this time with guns pointing upwards to the top floor, as Tom looked up with his binoculars he noticed the glass was shattered at the top floor, perhaps where Bowser had last stormed into the castle on his clown ship.

He noticed Bowser again, walking towards the edge of the room on the top floor. It was at that moment when the crowds panicked as bullets were fired towards Bowser, shattering more glass and causing Bowser to turn his back and run through the room out of Tom's vision. He zoomed in more on the top floor to try and find anybody else inside. He managed to catch the heads of Waluigi and Fire Bro, but nobody else.

"What's going on out there?" DK yelled from inside the vehicle. Luke turned back to face him.

"There's a riot outside the castle, and Bowser's rounded up loads of racers inside I think."

"I can see Waluigi... and Fire Bro..." Tom said slowly as he crept backwards on the roof of the car. "Now I see... Diddy Kong." DK jumped out of his seat.

"Where? Let me see, he leaped up on to the roof of the car, scaring some of the Toads and Koopas surrounding their car. DK borrowed the binoculars and stretched up much taller than Tom to see the view of the top floor of the castle. "There's many there." He stated. "Tens more at least: Wario, Koopa Troopa, Paratroopa, Shy Guy, Dry Bones..."

"Dry Bones!" Kamek got out of the car as well and got on to the roof. "I wonder what's happening."

"There are some humans up there too, four of them, Enrique's one of them but I don't know who the others are." Tom snatched the binoculars off of DK.

"Give me a lift." He said as DK raised Tom by his feet and holding Tom up straight and balanced, giving maximum height gain.

"It's George and Toby, and Jack!" Tom shouted whilst being slowly dropped down back on to the car roof.  
"Let's get in to a building and see better for ourselves!" Tom jumped down from the roof and brushed past angry citizens into a building, Luke soon followed behind him, leaving DK and Kamek on the roof without any binoculars. They both began to notices the crowds where building up in violence and some started attacking each other. The crowds roared with negative sound as Peach approached the window, staring down on them all. She also had binoculars, and began staring down sharply at the crowd, though it didn't seem like she saw DK or Kamek. Enrique approached the edge too just as Tom and Luke got onto a rooftop to the right of the main road, they noticed him use the binoculars and have a look round the city. Luke's eyes followed the path of Enrique's vision with the binoculars whilst Tom looked from the rooftop to see the angry mob, creating bonfires outside the castle and in front of the Brigade.

"Tom, look at this." Luke patted him and pointed across the road to another rooftop. "Who's that?" Tom looked up and noticed a very familiar red-shelled Koopa armed with a rocket launcher, looking exactly like Koopak Asquia.

"It's Koopak." Tom stated, using the binoculars to get an accurate view of his face as he fired the rocket launcher upward, heading straight for the castle roof. Tom looked back at the castle to see Enrique and Peach dash away from the fire, but the explosion only caused frights and massacre at the bottom. The riots worsened. Tom looked down to see DK and Kamek shocked at the blast too. Soon after, Kamek turned his head towards Tom, still gasping at the event.

"Come here!" Tom shouted as the two abandoned the car in the road and charged through the main building door before all the rushing Toads and Koopas went past it, running in fear or fighting back others. Thick dark smoke emerged out of the castle's top floor and Tom noticed the disappearance of everybody he used to be able to see there. As he saw DK and Kamek emerge from the roof door he immediately told them to lock the door, and by doing so none of the screaming Toads and Koopas would ever think to fight them. Tom turned back to look at Koopak and noticed that he had looked back at him. The two had constant eye contact with each other. He shook his head at Koopak, who grinned before carrying his rocket launcher out and through the door leading back in to the building he was in. Kamek had returned from the bottom floor to lock the door, with DK next to him staring down at the crowds as they became violent, leading to fires on every corner. Glass windows were smashed and shops were raided, but the Kamek and DK also sealed the door behind them. Koopak had disappeared from Tom's vision. Luke shivered, unfamiliar with violence in the Mushroom Kingdom. He was scared as he stared down at all the violence.

"Why are there riots?" Kamek asked Tom, assuming he would have an answer.

"I don't know. It seems like Peach's empire is collapsing under its own weight." He replied, staring back at the castle hoping to see any familiar figures.

"You shouldn't have trusted that girl; she's going to let him do bad stuff!" Kamek reinstated. "If you had a weapon you should've killed him like that and think to frame it on someone like that girl he was with." Tom looked down in disappointment and regret. The entire road in front of him was getting smoky and the car they were in was completely flipped over by the mobs. He noticed the Brigade managed to push forward their lines, beginning to clear the roads and douse all the fires. All four of them were still unsure as to why this had happened.

"Wait out here until it all clears up. It should be ceased by the morning." Tom considered to the others.

"You should know how riots work. You did your job up north with those 'riots'." DK sarcastically mentioned."

"Yeah so much for riots." Tom said, leading to a silence period...

 _MEANWHILE..._

Many other buildings were locked up and sealed as the riots drove over vigorously toward other parts of the town. One tall building which overlooked the bridge in Mushroom City seemed to be clear of angry mobs, and none had approached the circuit area. However there were still a few empty vehicles that lie on the bridge belonging to rioters. The police station was rather empty as most workers were out defending.

"It's a mess out there, how did it happen?" Koops asked a Toad officer inside the building, the same building that Koops had worked in.

"I'm not sure, at all." The Toad officer replied uselessly. Koops became startled as he noticed the real Toad walked in to the room they were in.

"It's a revolt." Toad stated. "Mainly because the announcement of Bowser's death was released to the public, and all of those rioting are either his followers or peace-makers."

"I wouldn't exactly describe them as peace-makers..." Koops suggested to Toad before grinning.

"Well, they just believe that dealing with Bowser is a normal part of their lives as Bowser is not a real fan of killing people." Toad thought.

"There are the Hostiles as well, they are much worse, and without Bowser the Hostiles may become a huge threat." The officer added. "They do like killing as well.

"Do you mind if two people come through to talk?" Koops asked Toad, who were on good terms with each other. Koops clicked his fingers and softly, Ludwig and Larry Koopa walked in. As Toad and the other officer turned around and noticed they jumped, along with Ludwig and Larry, quickly raising their arms in the air.

"We aren't here to fight you." Larry pointed out. "We wanna talk about the danger we are going to face."

"Koops here is a good friend of ours too, so it's best if we're all on good terms." Ludwig said. Toad and the other officer began to calm down.

"Go out and help." Toad ordered the other officer, making him get up and leave the room to go outside.

"So there are more people that follow Bowser then we think?" Ludwig pointed out as the officer left the room. He walked towards the windows of the room and noticed several Koopas and Toads running down the streets, all with sad or angry faces. Larry turned to the left to see out of the window on the other side. He caught sight of a Toad beating up what seemed like an innocent Koopa civilian. "There are Toads out there beating up Koopas." He claimed.

"There are Koopas beating up Toads as well, trust me." Toad said back to Larry.

"What's going to happen when this is all cleaned up? How would Toadstool respond to this?" Ludwig asked, turning his head back from the window to Toad and Koops.

"She will, I know she will. The Mario brothers are helping out as well, even Daisy too." Toad replied optimistically.

"Well, the idea of Éclair ruling the west really worked out." Larry joked with Ludwig. Toad clenched his fists and turned back to the two. "Whoa don't look at us, we didn't make her resign."

"You need to focus on the races." Ludwig mentioned, making Koops remember something as well.

"Hey Ludwig, who am I racing with?" He asked. Ludwig zoned out for a second, remembering what he had promised Koops.

"Yeah aren't you racing with Kooper?" Ludwig lied to try and convince Koops.

"I don't know where he is; all I know is he could be in those riots right now!" Koops worried. "Or with Koopie, he'd rather race with her though." Larry looked at Ludwig in anxiety.

"Listen." Ludwig walked over to Koops. "I think it's a bit dangerous to be racing against all the other competitors. In the past 24 hours I've been told that people like Dry Bones are going to race, you know... really good racers. I don't think it's worth it if you had a go."

"Yeah there was a broadcast message for those who wanted to join to meet at Peach's Castle, and look at the state of it now." Larry added. Koops looked up, trying to look less miserable.

"I've got a message." Toad checked on the officer's computer. "6 new teams confirmed 2 to go." Koops, Ludwig and Larry walked over towards the computer Toad was working on. He opened up an emailed document from another worker showing the list of the 14 current teams. Toad scrolled down to the list and zoomed in on it, making sure the others were able to read it.

"Toadbert and Toadsworth." Ludwig pointed out. "Those two won't stand a chance."

"Easier for King Dad and Junior to win." Larry laughed. The others muttered the names of the other racers as they read down the whole list.

"No Rosalina." Koops mentioned. "That's a surprise."

"Probably going to sign up soon, they'll reserve her a spot. Some say she's the best racer ever." Ludwig suggested.

"That's bad." Larry looked back at Ludwig. "We want Bowser to win remember?"

"Well she's perfectly fit to apply. She just needs another person to partner with her." Toad taunted the other two whilst looking at the screen with his fingers crossed. "I've got to decide my race with Toadette; we've already agreed to use a modified Rally Romper." The others looked at him, interested.

"What do you mean... decide your race?" Larry asked mischievously.

"As in I was told by Peach that every racer has to decide 1 race that they want to have included, since there are 32 races, 32 racers, one person will choose each race."

"What race are you thinking of?" Koops asked. "Has Toadette decided hers?"

"We're thinking of races such as my factory, Mushroom Gorge, Shroom Ridge, Mushroom Bridge etcetera, but we haven't confirmed anything between us. Toadsworth and Toadbert might choose some races similar to ours as well. Better not pick anything stupid for us; we suck at the hard tracks." Larry and Ludwig looked at each other evilly hearing the fact that the Toad is not a great racer.

"Now get out." Toad ordered randomly. "We got to deal with outside and close this place for the night. Can't have you two scoundrels conspiring anything stupid." Toad led the two Koopas downstairs and out of the building. "Run now, before the riots catch you!" Toad attempted to shove the two out of the door, quickly closing the door behind him before they could say anything back. Koops followed them downstairs and watched as they rushed across the road underneath the bridge out of their sight.

"What are we going to do now?" Koops asked Toad as he proceeded on upstairs back through the rooms of the police station.

"We get some sleep." He replied. "We'll deal with all of these riots, Koopak's son, and those two in the morning." Toad locked up and left the building out of the secret entranceway. Koops quickly followed behind him.

"But what about the princess?" Koops asked annoyingly, unaware that Toad was not lying and actually wanted to go to sleep. He turned round at Koops.

"Good, night, Koops." He yelled monotonously before heading off in his own direction back to Toad Town where his house was. Now Koops was awkwardly standing in the middle of an empty road with no nearby rioters...

 **January 7 – 12:00PM**

 **Peach's Castle Cells, cleaned up**

Peach and Daisy met up with Mario and Luigi after the massacre of last night, waiting outside the guarded cells to release the captives inside. As Peach opened the hatch into the dark room, she saw the 5 all doing their own thing quietly inside the cells. Toads guarding stood aside as Peach ordered their doors to be open. Waluigi growled at the presence of the people outside as the door opened. Everybody inside turned their heads to see Peach and Daisy, with Mario and Luigi behind them.

"You're free to go. But I have a message for you all. You must show up to the Mushroom Square in Toad Town in the early morning on the 10th of the month. Please bring your kart or bike with you and you must each and I mean each, decide one race you would like to submit for the races. I will give a lecture to everybody on the day but it is compulsory to bring your karts." She announced to the captives.

"Where's that?" Lakitu asked informally. The Toad guards sighed as they heard what he had asked.

"It is the big square in the centre of Toad Town, which lies to the left as you leave my castle." Peach answered, then turning her head over towards Dry Bones. "Dry Bones, you will need to tell Kamek about your sign-up to these events. You both must have an agreement amongst yourselves for the kart or bike you are choosing. Please note everybody that you must seek out at mechanic shops for two-man modification for your karts, and if there is a glider or not as well. These events will need gliders and in the rare cases depending on the races people choose: underwater mechanics." The Toad guards stood out of the way of the entrance as the five captives were escorted out. Mario and Luigi pulled frowns as they saw Wario and Waluigi walk out of the cell, giving bad looks back clearly showing their hate for each other.

"We'll beat you all." Wario yelled confidently to everybody before turning to walk out of the cells room.

"In your dreams!" Mario laughed as the guards took them out of the room. Aside Wario and Waluigi making smirks and growling noises, the other three left rather quietly and patiently which left a big surprise on Peach and Daisy's face. Peach thought that workers of Bowser would despise the princesses, but maybe they are more depressed than angered due to their lack of work and freedom being outcasts of the Mushroom Kingdom. She was unsure where either of the three would live now as Bowser's Castle was almost empty; when she was there she noticed how empty the place seemed. All she had seen there were only Bowser's kids, which are probably seeking out for help from anybody they can find, willing to give them shelter and undercover aid before any Toad Brigade member of Hostile ever thinks to assassinate them. Lakitu gave a long stare at Peach however, without any specific expression. Her thoughts on any reason as to why he gave such a look were unclear and unsure as to why. As she phased out in her mind she got a pat on the back by Mario, speaking words she was not listening to. She hesitated and looked back at him.

"What?" She asked informally.

"Are you going to greet our friends over there?" Peach turned her head and realised that Rosalina and Pauline had arrived from afar to meet. Oddly she didn't see them appear after she was too focused in watching Lakitu as he left. She stared at Rosalina, who gave a small gesture of a wave back to her. The two were led by few Toads towards the four in the corridor.

"Hey Peach! We want to sign up for the tournament." Pauline greeted happily.

"Sounds great! Did you hear the message about meeting on the 10th?" Daisy asked kindly after shaking hands with Pauline.

"No, what is it? I know that the teams have to be decided for then." She replied.

"Meet at Mushroom Square in Toad Town, and bring your selected vehicle and race." Peach, who became fully focused, interrupted with a very big smile on her face, staring right in to Rosalina and Pauline's eyes.

"I'm going to need biker gear." Pauline stated, with Rosalina nodding in agreement shortly after.

"Right!" Peach said delightfully. "See these Toads here about it, they will escort you to the place where you can get it sorted, I'm guessing you'll like a dark-red inlay with your outfit." She giggled with Pauline as the Toads waiting gathered up to the two tall ladies.

"We have our bike." Rosalina mentioned. "What do you mean by race?"

"Every racer chooses one race, the order they will be in will be decided on the 10th, though we will reveal only the first 8." The two girls nodded in agreement to Peach. "Due to the incident at Wuhu, neither loops are selectable. I will tell the others that on the day. You don't have to fully finalise your choice until the day. Toads make sure the message goes to everyone. Yoshi and Birdo should get the message now."

"What about Rainbow Roads?" Peach froze for a short period after hearing the last words.

"L-let's save that query for the 10th, goodbye for now!" She stuttered, soon changing to another delightful mood. Rosalina looked confused, but shortly turned around to be escorted out of the castle by the Toads. Peach turned to see Mario and Luigi still waiting patiently and rather ghostly, making no attempt to talk to Rosalina especially. As soon as they disappeared from hearing range, Peach's mood turned for the worst.

"We just let one of the best racers ever race!" She yelled angrily.

"At least she can beat Bowser, he is considered the best." Mario stated, trying to cheer her up.

" _I'm_ the best! Rosalina wouldn't go out of her way to win to stop Bowser though. Plus I want to prove to Rosalina that I'm better than her."

Daisy immediately butted in.

"Listen here Peach, if you wanted to prove that you're better than Rosalina than you play against her in single racer format. This is a double-dash tournament, what Bowser wished for but you wanted to take control of it as much as you wanted. Besides, your partner is me. Her partner is Pauline. Like, has she even raced before? She has no biker gear!"

"Well, we're probably going to beat you two anyway so..." Luigi added randomly.

"Shut up!" Peach yelled to Luigi.

"Calm-a down everybody!" Mario tried to make a just conclusion. "What matters at the moment is that Bowser needs to lose. We should work together.

"But Mario." Luigi conflicted. "If we win we get all his money. Millions of gold coins, no more jumping up on the blocks any more on our way to save the princess." Mario's pupils turned in to gold coins along with a big smile appearing on his face.

"With that money, I wouldn't bother rescuing you. Think of all the meals we can eat Luigi." Mario taunted Peach, turning her face red. "Think of all the ravioli, and the spaghetti meatballs and spicy hot Italian-imported pizza."

"What's that got anything to do with all those gold coins Mario, I don't understand." Luigi uttered in confusion.

"That's because you're a dog, Luigi." Mario slapped Luigi in a silly way, fully angering Peach.

"Stop! Both of you!" Peach roared in to their faces.

"I'm not falling for that trick again Mario." Luigi whispered out of Peach's attention.

"Daisy and I will show you who the real boss of this land is. Not like I'm that anyway."

"Ya-ha."

"I'm going to use Bowser's coins fairly. Though Daisy can spend her share in whatever way she wants."

"Yep!"

"This is going to be the biggest, best, most competitive tournament yet." The four walked in to the main assembly hall of Peach's Castle, where they saw Toadbert and Toadsworth up near the throne having their own conversation. Both stared at them as they approached, smiling overtly.

"Hello everybody! We were just talking about the... races..." Toadbert greeted anxiously. Peach didn't seem very interested based on her facial expression.

"What are you two doing in my castle? You two didn't sign up with me anyway." She said rather aggressively, startling Daisy and Mario. Both the two Toads shrieked and ran out in fear, feeling they had upset their ruler. The others didn't say a word until they left, all looking confused.

"Why did you send them out like that?" Mario asked quietly, trying his best not to annoy Peach.

"Those two are absolute garbage at racing, Bowser let them in and they won't leave. No competition." She raged, moving up to her throne and sitting down in a humph.

"Who cares?" Daisy yelled. "We got this, stop worrying!" Peach sighed and slouched on her throne seat, seeming very bored.

"I can't wait for these races already."

"Anything you can do about it though?" Luigi asked. Before Peach could reply with anything the four heads turned towards the entrance again, to see the doors opening, the shadow of a human figure walked across the room surrounded by the light of the outside. All on his own, he kept walking uniformly straight towards the four standing by the throne. The shadow disappeared revealing the figure of Tom. They all gasped at his demeaning presence, though he had quite a smile on his face.

"It seems like I've missed a lot." He spoke loudly across the hall to the four, who stood straight and looked down on him like they were a royal family. Peach sat on her throne and did not get up nor move in closer to show attention. Daisy remained by her left and Mario and Luigi to her right. "However it seems like the races are still underway in operation. I've noticed Rosalina and Pauline are in town, are they a team?" He said again, trying to break a potential awkward silence in the hall. Tom began to feel one coming from the sound of the echo of his speech.

"I have confirmed them." Peach finally spoke out, trying to minimise her words.

 _15\. Rosalina and Pauline_

"We're still looking for one more." The silence began. Tom stood there thinking of what to say next whilst the four atop the throne looked down on Tom by the steps.

"Well..." He said rather slowly. "If you want these races to be the best ever, find the best racers you can possibly think of." Peach moved her body closer to look down on Tom, directly staring at him.

"I wasn't talking about myself." He joked. "Though I am quite a good driver I guess."

"Come closer." Peach demanded with a very deep voice, sounding very strict. Tom walked up more steps to become about two metres away from the others. "I want you to race."

"This is the part where we leave now." Luigi whispered to Mario.

"Peach, me and Luigi are going to"-

"Good. Go." She ordered quickly without letting them finish, the two ran out through the nearest door and out of hearing range. Peach gestured Tom to approach even closer. "Sit down in front of me." She ordered.

Tom refused. "I'm afraid I'm not doing that for you." Daisy gasped, but Peach smiled.

"Even better." She said as deeply as before. "You can do as well as you want to in this tournament, your presence is what we need." Peach got up from her throne seat and stood directly in front of Tom; Daisy also moved closer to listen in and sometimes speak.

"Those two are whipped if you know what I mean." She stated quietly, making Tom grin a bit looking over to the hallway where the two disappeared to and beyond. "They are good, don't get me wrong. However, the audience is not like you'd think it to be. They want the popular people to race; they don't actually care as much about them. The public want to see me and Daisy race, they want to see... Funky Kong race because they're not only good but they're entertaining to watch."

"Also, there's nothing special about racers such as Yoshi and Birdo, they aren't good either but they are just fillers." Daisy added. "The races need to be confirmed as soon as possible so we can start selling tickets. Trust me they will go faster than you can say Henry Ford."

"So you want me and Enrique to race, fill your last position." Tom suggested.

"Exactly, then maybe we can get everything confirmed." Peach whispered.

"We have it all planned out." Daisy added again.

"Sign us up then. We will sort things out for the 10th." Tom confirmed.

 _16\. Tom and Enrique_

"A special day awaits us..."

Part Three: The Road to Double-Dash

 **January 10, 2015 (1) – Morning**

 **Mushroom Square, Toad Town**

A few days passed, a few rather quiet days to be precise. All 32 racers had grouped up eventually, meeting up in a massively formed circle in Toad Town. The whole place was empty of citizens. It was all barred off and shut down outside the castle and on the few streets of Toad Town to assemble the games together. Peach and Daisy stood in the centre, ready to announce a speech for some to listen to and some to sleep to.

"People from across the lands, thank you all for attending today in order to confirm how the races are going to be for the upcoming days. If you would kindly sit around and listen in on all the rules that will apply for the races." Everybody stood down and sat themselves comfortably ready to listen. Each and every one that was there was sitting next to their partner. Directly to the right of Peach and Daisy and proceeding clockwise, sat Mario and Luigi, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, Rosalina and Pauline, Tom and Enrique, Shy Guy and Lakitu, Wario and Waluigi, Bowser and Bowser Jr, Dry Bones and Kamek, King Boo and Petey, Hammer Bro and Fire Bro, Toadbert and Toadsworth, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, Yoshi and Birdo, and Toad and Toadette to their left, all with their kart or bike next to them.

"First of all, the races will be set to 150cc, with 5 laps each, regardless to the length of the course. We will have inspections on your vehicle's setting before each race happens so nobody will be cheating by speed-hacking throughout the races. Anybody caught in changing mid race will be disqualified and will receive 0 points for that race AND the race after that as well.

Secondly, the item setting will be in Frantic Mode. (Causing a few gasps) Also we will have the sixth tournament item roster; coins will be included on the tracks however. This means we will have the flying blue shells and the more slowing of specific items. All vehicles are updated for 8th series I presume.

Thirdly, the points system per race will go as follows: 20, 17, 15, 13, 12 and so forth until 1. Even if you come last you can still get points.

Bikes are allowed I see you have had all of your vehicles adjusted for two people to be on and included with a glider.

The following races are not selectable; please change these before confirming your option: Wuhu Mountain Loop, Wuhu Island Loop, Duplicate Bowser's Castles, Duplicate Rainbow Roads, races with the 'word' circuit in them, one lap races, and any first tournament race, Figure-8 Circuit, and Melody Motorway / Music Park." Everybody seemed obedient for the time being.

"The first race is my own selected Mushroom City, and the last race will be Bowser's selected: Bowser's Castle. Each other race will be selected at random to be drawn until all have run out. Any questions?" The area was quiet, with many people just awkwardly staring at each other. Rosalina, Kamek and Bowser Jr had their hands up.

"Kamek?" She allowed.

"Yes, is Electrodrome still possible due to what happened there couple weeks back?"

"Yes." Peach answered. "It's all cleared up in the likelihood of it being picked. Rosalina?"

"Why can't Rainbow Road be last?"

"Yeah." Bowser Jr added. "Have Bowser's Castle penultimately." Peach looked around to see many people nodding in agreement.

"Fair enough, we can have that. This means 29 races will be randomly selected. I'm guessing that was your question too." Bowser Jr nodded. "Good, now could you all collect a sheet of paper from the centre and a pen to write your name down and your chosen race. Please place it in to this ballot pile and we will randomly select the first 7, excluding Mushroom City." Everybody approached the centre, some immediately taking a pen and paper while others waited until the rest cleared away. They were all rather quiet and gentle with one another as they collected paper. On the sheets, there was a dotted line indicating to write 'Your Name' and another for 'Race Chosen'.

 _SEVERAL MINUTES LATER..._

Mario and Luigi approached the ballot first, representing themselves with their races and their chosen vehicle: _B Dasher Mk 2._

They placed their race choices into the ballot.

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong approached, behind where they sat was their chosen vehicle: The Offroader, modified for 8th tournament play, including a built-in glider and underwater driving capability.

They placed their choices in.

Funky Kong and Cranky Kong placed their papers in to the ballot, behind them was their bike that they were going to use for the races: Torpedo, modified to be larger and with a back glider.

Rosalina and Pauline went up next, placing their races in.

"One of these is a Rainbow Road." Rosalina turned around, alerting all the other racers. They both turned and walked back to sit next to their bike: Twinkle Star. Modified. Peach took out Rosalina's ballot for Rainbow Road, indicating her that it would be selected as the final race.

Tom and Enrique approached next but rather slowly, both placing their papers in to the ballot. Enrique noticed one of papers placed in the ballot not folded in well, letting him read the race shown on the paper but not the person who chose it.

"That's a hard race." Enrique said, not directly telling anybody whose race or what race he was referring to. The two then both walked back to their kart: A Standard Kart M, resembling a 6th tournament type (Wii) but larger and with a glider included.

Shy Guy and Lakitu walked up, staring at Tom and Enrique's standard kart. Lakitu remembered that in his past two tournaments that nobody used standard karts in the proper races. Shy Guy noticed too, giving a smirk at the two as they placed their papers in. The two silently walked back to their chosen bike: Bubble Bike.

Wario and Waluigi approached next, laughing with each other causing all the attention to be diverted to them. As they reached the ballot, they both gave an evil laugh as they placed their papers in, laughing more as they walked back to their bike: Wario Bike.

"What's with those two?" Kamek asked Dry Bones, who looked around and saw a few other people asking the same thing to their partner.

"I have no idea, but that's them for you." He replied.

They all watched as Bowser walked up to the ballot with Bowser Jr. Everybody stared at the paper that was dropped in to the ballot by Junior, watching him laugh evilly as the two walked back to their vehicle: The Flame Flyer, and larger than usual.

Dry Bones and Kamek were called up next, both slipping their papers in to the ballot quickly before returning back to their bike: Magikruiser. Everybody was now staring at the rest of the people as they put their submissions in.

King Boo and Petey placed theirs in next and returned back to their Piranha Prowler.

Hammer Bro and Fire Bro placed theirs after and returned to their Wild Wing.

Toadbert and Toadsworth, rather unknown to the majority of the crowd arrived next, placing theirs in and returning to their Concerto.

Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa arrived up to place theirs in, returning straight back to their Bullet Bike.

Yoshi and Birdo approached to the middle to place their submissions in, afterwards they returned back to their modified bike: The Rapide.

Toad and Toadette arrived penultimately to place theirs in, they both walked back to their kart after nodding respectfully to Peach. The two Toads were going to race in a Rally Romper.

Daisy approached last, ready to place hers in. As she did, she could see everybody else staring patiently at her as she dropped the final paper into the ballot box, completing the set of 32 races for the future. Daisy walked back to sit next to Peach, where they had their modified and inlaid Mach Bike still looking unscathed and fresh for the races. Peach then got up to take the full ballot box from the middle and shuffle around all of the pieces of paper inside.

"We all know that Mushroom City is going to be the first race, we are now going to decide the other races to complete the first quarter." She closed her eyes and shuffled around the ballot box. Everybody was focused on the ballot box, watching all the papers moving around ready to be picked.

She sifted through and picked out the first bit of paper with her fresh white gloves, raising it up in the air and opening it up revealing the name and the race chosen.

"2, Yoshi: Yoshi Valley."

"What?" Tom called out. "I thought that was a maze, not a race!" He looked at Yoshi in spite, who only began to giggle a bit.

"All of the races are going to be hard." Enrique whispered to Tom, focused on the ballot box. Nobody else seemed to create any commotion; they all seemed to be very observant and eager to know which races will be selected. Peach grabbed a pen and noted down the number 2 on the same paper as Yoshi's before selecting another paper from the box. After shuffling and picking out, she raised another unfolded sheet of paper into the air.

"3, Toadette, Mushroom Bridge." Peach announced, writing the number 3 on to that one.

"That race is pretty easy." Tom whispered to Enrique.

"Everyone will find it easy, that's why we will do worse." He said back quietly before turning back to Peach, who shuffled the box once again. Tom looked around to see everybody focusing their eyes on the ballot box, impossible to interact with. They then looked towards Peach as she revealed the fourth race.

"4, Toadsworth, Maple Treeway."

"That's a nice one." Tom whispered again to Enrique. "We could pull that one off with item luck or something."

"Yeah, I think the races people chose are the fun ones, which look difficult but if you do really well in them all the crowds will think you're really good." Enrique replied.

"Will you be quiet?" Daisy yelled from across the circle, some contenders turned their heads towards the two, who looked awkwardly around the place. Tom nodded back to Daisy and closed his mouth. She pointed back at Enrique and then pinched her fingers across her mouth. Enrique then decided to point back to her, sliding his finger across his throat, showing a threat. She growled quietly and looked back to Peach, who was too busy selecting the fifth race.

"5, Paratroopa, Koopa Cape."

There was silence this time after the announcement. Enrique could notice after a short while that Paratroopa was whispering to Koopa Troopa.

"I wrote down a different race." Was all he could hear from Koopa Troopa as he whispered back to Paratroopa, they then turned their heads back to Peach.

"6, Toad, Toad's Factory."

Another silence period. Peach had written 5 on Paratroopa's paper and began to write a 6 on Toad's, indicating the race order. Tom had thought that all the races picked so far all seemed relatively bright and nice, he was surprised to see nothing scary or dangerous. Nobody he knew well had a race selected already.

"7, Luigi, Luigi's Mansion."

Lakitu sighed, diverting a few's attention, they could all gather that he was rather feeble at that race. After all it did seem like the gloomiest race so far, but not very challenging. Peach wrote a 7 on Luigi's paper and began to select the last race for the first eight chosen on that day.

"Finally, 8, Shy Guy, Shy Guy Falls." She wrote down the number on to Shy Guy's paper and placed all of the selected papers back in to the ballot box open up and unfolded, then she folded up the box and sealed it up, placing it aside next to her bike. "You can now discuss." Peach looked back at Enrique and Tom with a smile.

"They all look easy." Tom said loudly, making everyone look at him and listen in.

Funky Kong laughed at the two sitting across the circle. "That means the hard races will be selected later."

"We haven't seen many races yet." Kamek mentioned.

"That includes yours." Shy Guy said directed to Tom and Enrique.

"What race did you choose?" Enrique asked Tom, who whispered back to him. "Why that race?" He asked again. Tom shrugged his shoulders.

"Sounds cool." He replied, making more people laugh. Rosalina facepalmed.

"These two are fools, why are they racing?" King Boo asked, looking at Peach. "I mean, surely there are other people, who else would be able to compete and do better?"

"You should've got Koopak Asquia to race." Kamek asked. "That would make it even more fun."

"Koops McShell also wanted to race; Ludwig told me that a few days back. He must be really disappointed."

"We have our contenders, accept it and move on, there's no leaving now." Peach spoke out to everyone in the circle.

"Just wait till we get to the harder races, everybody here is going to be rivals." Wario said.

"Half the people here are rivals of everyone else." Lakitu stated immediately after.

"You don't see anybody having arguments with each other though, do you?" Wario said back.

"It's because we are all here formally to discuss race selection." Toadsworth proclaimed.

"No." Enrique butted in. "You're all afraid." Waluigi shrieked. "You don't want to fight each other because you're all scared; supporters of people here will want to kill you guys, especially those well known." People gasped, knowing the harsh truth. "No wonder this occasion is private, if Toads and Koopa citizens saw everyone here breaking bread, we'll have more riots across the entire lands. They're living more freely. Just wait till what the Hostiles have on offer." Many of those in the circle got scared, Mario and Luigi looked rather confused but people such as Kamek, Paratroopa and Dry Bones got scared.

"That's a wrap then." Daisy said to all those sitting around, interrupting Enrique.

"Indeed." Peach agreed while the rest were still silent. "All your karts and bikes seem rather capable of racing, ranging from only the 6th series, now what can I say about that?"

"Well the 6th tournament was the best one." King Boo stated. "Shame not everybody here raced in it. This one should become the best."

"Well judging by that kart you two have over there..." Funky Kong pointed to Tom and Enrique. "It's better if not everybody raced!" He joked, causing many people around to laugh, mostly Koopas. Tom and Enrique also laughed sarcastically, though at the same time they tried to hide the honest truth about their skill.

"Wait and see." Enrique replied out of spite. "If we're so bad, anybody who does worse than us should feel ashamed." The laughing stock of racers became silenced and baffled at that remark. Few scratched their heads, and others looked away awkwardly, though Waluigi focused his eyes on Enrique as he giggled at his own remark.

"Come Enrique, we talk like men." He got up and pointed away, the two disappeared from the very awkward circle of quiet racers.

"Time to go back to the castle." Bowser said to Junior, those two quickly escaped the scene as well. Most others decided to sit around and talk amongst themselves while everybody was here. The next time they would all be with one another will be in a proper racing environment, and without all the friendly attitudes...

 **EOC: We're slowly getting the ball rolling towards the races, however I don't want to rush the bits beforehand so I may end up editing or adding in more stuff because there are so much bulky things to put in the chapters.**

 **The 16 team's have been selected and confirmed, the races should start soon now. Take in to account this fanfic is not all about Bowser's last request and the double dash tournament but all the events that occur at the same time. If you have anything to wonder or query about send me a PM or check my profile page for lore guidance.**

 **See you next time!**


	7. Isle Port

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 7 – Isle Port

 **A/N: As a quick sort of reminder, now you should know all of the contenders and their karts. It was rather hard to list them in the previous chapter so now I will address them on a list here in order.**

 **Mario and Luigi – B Dasher Mk 2**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr – Flame Flyer**

 **Wario and Waluigi – Wario Bike**

 **Peach and Daisy – Mach Bike**

 **Yoshi and Birdo – Rapide**

 **Toad and Toadette – Rally Romper**

 **DK and Diddy Kong – Offroader**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa – Bullet Bike**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth – Concerto**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro – Wild Wing**

 **Cranky Kong and Funky Kong – Torpedo**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu – Bubble Bike**

 **King Boo and Petey – Piranha Prowler**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek – Magikruiser**

 **Rosalina and Pauline – Twinkle Star**

 **Tom and Enrique – Standard Kart M**

 **January 10, 2015 – 3:30PM**

 **Toad Town Outskirts**

 _WALKING OUT OF TOAD TOWN..._

Two slim humans strolled into the woods and out of sight from the rest. Waluigi being the slightly taller one, looked back to see nobody else staring at them.

"What's your purpose then?" Enrique asked Waluigi, looking rather annoyed whilst looking up to his shaped face.

"Have you not seen how the whole world has changed over the past few years? It frightens me." He replied anxiously. "Around all the people I am still my usual self, but when I think about it alone... all these races... the money... the rivalries... I get scared." He carried on lecturing as they walked up a forest hill, definitely out of sight from the rest and near the edge of Toad Town, also part of the edge of Mushroom City.

"Death tolls are rising in some places." He added finally. Enrique stopped and turned to Waluigi before responding. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted for one more sentence. "What was it like when you were... north?"

"They didn't like Peach, or Bowser. But if you show up with a neutral reputation, they will not want to kill you." He said quickly, looking in to the woods and then back to Waluigi. "Yes, tolls are rising. The battles between Peach and Bowser actually were good times, because very few people were actually dying. Having no villain in the lands will create more potential enemies, plus there's the ever-growing force of the Hostiles in the north which is going to become a problem. Those guys actually kill Koopas of Bowser's armies and Toads of Peach's Government. Famous people are targets." Waluigi's face turned red from upset, it began to sweat as Enrique carried on.

"Peach doesn't understand the risk of attacks on the people when they watch the games. The worst thing about the Hostiles, they could be any one of the Koopas or Goombas that you see around you, they're everywhere but covering up their identity and we don't know if they are Hostile."

"Oh no!" He screamed, wailing loudly in the forest, unheard by anybody however. To the south, Enrique noticed the end of the tree line, separating the forest from a meadow along the shore overlooking an island connected by a small bridge. The two began to walk in the meadow, with the sun coming back in to their eyes. The meadow was thin, but it stretched along the grassy coastline towards the horizon on each side.

"Follow me." Enrique said as he dashed on to the plains, noticing Sirenna and Ricco to the east, and turning around to see Peach Beach to the west. This could only mean that the island in front of them joined by the bridge was Isle Port: a large cliff island, mostly flat with a few trees, with a tiny town in the centre, also called Isle Port. The road coming from it led straight back to Mushroom City or Sirenna Beach but it was completely empty of any vehicles.

"Tell me Waluigi, is Isle Delfino shaped like a dolphin?" Enrique asked again, Waluigi looked confused at the question.

"No, why?"

Enrique looked westwards along the coastline, the view was so clear he could catch a glimpse of Isle Delfino, smaller than he thought it would be. "It's just a detail that those on Earth had altered; many beaches that the people of Earth thought were all part of Isle Delfino, were just other parts of the largest island's coastline."

"I heard about this, some sort of myth everyone here thinks it was." Enrique looked back at Waluigi as they crossed the meadow.

"This place is quite different to what people on Earth view it as, they thought all places such as Sirenna Beach, Ricco Harbour, Gelato Beach, were all part of Isle Delfino." He carried on. The two eventually reached the clear bridge to Isle Port.

"Why are we going here?" Waluigi asked.

"I'm going to look for some valuables, for the future. What did you want me to do when we were at Toad Town?"

"To talk to you about the fear of the north..." Enrique stopped for a second.

"Well we can do that while I search the twins' house, maybe they're at home." He replied, proceeding across the bridge. Waluigi had no other considerable choice but to follow along.

"About that Delfino thing..." Waluigi reminded. "The only named beaches there are Noki Bay and Delfino Beach, which is on the side facing the endless southern sea." The two had already seen the view of the endless southern sea, though Isle Port was obstructing their proper view. The island town was known to be the southernmost point in all of the lands, and home to about six different families who were neutral to most of Peach's government forces.

"I need a map." Enrique strolled on the sidewalk of the only main road of Isle Port, the entire place looked empty of people, but not abandoned. Cars were parked neatly, houses were clean and the concrete side roads were polished recently. At the end of the main road the concrete converged into a dirt path, leading through a flat meadow going on for a few miles and eventually stopping at a building halfway across the island. Now that all of the houses were past them, the two could see the endless sea once again.

"Which house belongs to the twins?" Waluigi asked Enrique as they stared south, he looked at Enrique as he saw him stretch his arm out to point to the building in the centre of the island. Their shadows lie directly in front of the two, and their heads began to feel hot. Long ago Enrique noticed a weather factor about the lands, the further south you go, the hotter it gets. He thought it could be at least 40 degrees (C) right now. Waluigi gave a big sigh showing his true laziness.

"More walking..." He moaned.

"If you want answers to the future, then follow me." Enrique carried on forward towards the twins' house. Waluigi looked amazed at its position, it felt like a charming tree surrounded by the vibrantly coloured flowers and grass that flooded the stump island. "We can both get our answers from them."

"I've never heard of this place. There's so much about the land that not even I know about." Waluigi stated as they walked. "I have only realised now that life's not all about being an antagonist's minion when there's so many bigger things happening in the world."

"You're woke, Waluigi."

"Awake?"

"No, you're finally seeing the bigger picture."

The two approached the large house, seeming very chromic and modern, with big glass windows and marble walls. There was a roofless car parked outside next to the main entrance to the house. The two noticed the doors were left ajar.

"Time to look inside." Enrique smiled at Waluigi as they walked up the footsteps to the interior of the house. "Hello?" He yelled as they closed the door behind them. "Anybody home?" There was silence, neither one of the twins were present in the large house. It felt like they haven't been here for a very long time. The two looked around and saw every bit of the house looking clean and untouched.

"They're not here." Waluigi pointed out. "What should we do?" He looked at Enrique, who was looking around more at the house.

"Search downstairs, I'm going upstairs to look for something I need, and then we can find you your information." Enrique rushed to the stairs while Waluigi stared at the main room. It was quite an open marble floored room with a chromic table in the middle, very unfamiliar to any sort of house in the lands, the sofas surrounding the table looked dark and angular but rather comfortable as Waluigi walked over and felt them. On the other side of the room was a small kitchen area, with lighter looking pillars on both sides. The room had almost no decorations or any pictures hanging from the wall. To the left of the table was a massive glass window and a marble inlay in the centre with draws placed on the bottom. Waluigi searched them and found lots of papers inside, most of them contained images and drawings of old Powerhouse work, well beyond complexion of Waluigi's comprehensive ability. In other draws he found similar things, mostly about ancient uses of The Spire and The Powerhouse, he even found an old schoolbook inside one of the draws belonging to Tobias.

Nothing of any use to Waluigi.

"Come up here!" Enrique shouted from upstairs. Waluigi answered the call and hurried up the neon marble staircase. The entire house was very open as he noticed the design of upstairs; it was one large looking bedroom with two beds on one side, a set of more draws ahead of them and a huge shelf of books and scrolls on the other side.

"These can't all be theirs." Waluigi thought. "They must have stolen everything."

"Not everything." Enrique replied, studying a map of the southern kingdoms, he placed the A1 looking map on to one of the beds and laid it flat, examining the southern coastline. "They have borrowed things from the council in the north, but I've seen a lot of blueprints that they made for themselves on how to work the Powerhouse.

"An Albanian to English dictionary? What's that?" Waluigi handed over a book to Enrique, confused.

"That's another way of saying, Old Koopish to New Koopish translator, well... the common tongue." He replied, putting the dictionary aside. Enrique looked at the map more looking closely at the names of all the beaches on the southern coast.

"Sirenna Beach, then Ricco Harbour, Isle Port, Peach Beach, Frinméy Beach that's new, Gelato Beach..." He moved his finger along the map. "All part of the southern coastline but not in Isle Delfino." Enrique walked over to the draws to collect another map, of Isle Delfino. It looked similar to what he thought it would be but without most of the beaches and there was no Pinna Park. Waluigi looked over the maps Enrique had on the table, with no idea why he had them placed in that way and for what reason. But like he does with some of the things Wario does, he just went with it and waited till he was finished.

"I've got studying to do." Enrique said to him as he put the maps back.

"What about the stuff I need?" Waluigi reminded him. Enrique searched the shelves to take some old books, mostly written by the council or the twins. He then walked back to the draws and collected another map of the north. The map was covered in different colours with a key. The land of Résethal was painted in red, grey and yellow; the red area covered any Hostile ground, covering the entirety of the north of Résethal excluding the Spire, and the western coastline. The yellow area was a small portion outside Aypyidaw, controlled by the council or Peach's forces. The grey area was neutral, covering any other area along the southeast of Résethal, outside the north side of Bowser's Castle. Enrique lectured to Waluigi about the control of the north, the map read the land control updated to late 2014.

"There are some areas that we might visit in the event that they are picked for the races." He pointed towards Koopa Cape on the eastern coastline, below the spire, part of the grey area. He then pointed to Wild Woods, also in the grey. Wario Colosseum was also in Résethal, in the red. Waluigi scratched his head, thinking Wario would have selected there to race.

"It seems..." Enrique went back to sift through the books on the shelves. "There's not much these guys have to help find you safety in the future. But hey, if you're at risk of being attacked by Hostiles, then everybody in the races will be. I think they're fond of the works of terrorism."

"What will it be like?" Waluigi asked, inspecting more books on the shelves.

"Well, hopefully during the races there will be lots of security for the people watching. The races are probably going to be broadcasted by some of the Lakitus; it will be the most viewed tournament yet." He lectured, putting the maps away, searching along the shelves for other important scrolls or maps. "The worst will happen at the end of the races, when either Bowser dies or he becomes a ruler again. If Bowser wins the tournament I think all of his old followers will join him again and then there will be a great war against him and Peach's forces again... which is good on you I guess." Waluigi laughed. "Yeah ha-ha."

"But no teaming in the tournament." Enrique reminded. "The winner takes all of the coins." Waluigi's pupils turned in to gold coins. "If he loses, there will still be a war but it will be one full of riots and hurting innocents, don't get me wrong here. Peach is letting freedom slide in the land, thankfully the Brigade do a really good job in ceasing attacks and riots around, but they're happening more often now." He took a scroll off the shelves and opened it up to be another copy of the letter Bowser originally sent to Peach concerning the races in the first place.

"I saw one of those messages, we all got given those, and I don't know how they got their hands on one though." Enrique looked at Waluigi, confused as he told him that fact. He turned his head right back to the scroll.

"I've seen this scroll many times before but it was the same one each time. Tom showed me one a couple days back. He said he found it in a crashed car about a couple days ago. I wonder who had it first." He scanned the scroll, noticing it had the exact same format as the other one. Enrique rubbed his finger on the scroll, feeling what he thought was the ink of Bowser's signature. It was photocopied. This was not the original copy.

"I'm guessing there's... seven of those?" Waluigi suggested. "One sent to Peach and Daisy, and then she must have copied six more to send to the other main competitors."

"Sounds accurate to me." Enrique replied. "I don't think the original copy was the one that Tom had, because he had given that one to DK when he hadn't seen anything like it before."

"I'm guessing Yoshi and Birdo still have theirs, Toad and Toadette must have theirs, Mario and Luigi must have theirs." Waluigi stated. "Ours is at the shack, we definitely left ours there."

"Where's your shack?"

"Saljiya, North Mushroom Kingdom."

"So nobody's bound to have snatched yours."

"So if those four duos have their copies, DK has his, the original one is probably in the hands of Peach and Daisy still, where's the last one?"

Enrique looked at the scroll again. "This is the last one... But it belongs to... Koopa and Paratroopa."

"The two must have taken it from them?"

"Indeed, all I know is that Koopa Cape lies somewhere near the Spire as shown on the map, when I was there five years ago for the first time in Urscan I caught a glimpse of them with Tom, but I never saw Koopa and Paratroopa." Enrique took the scroll, a map of the southern coastline and a folded map of the north outside with him; Waluigi still inspected some more documents in the draws.

"I found some interesting stuff about the Red Martyr council here!" He yelled from upstairs as Enrique reached the front door. "Some guide about making Portable Portals?"

"Leave that alone." Enrique called back. "You won't need that. That's not for you." He put his papers down on the floor by the door and rushed upstairs again, to see Waluigi reading through. He quickly rushed over to snatch the book off of him, making him look upset. "I'm sorry, but that's theirs, and we don't want them to know what we took from them. We got what we came for now." Enrique went back down and outside, Waluigi slowly followed but felt very down. The two walked down to the dirt path leading back to the main part of Isle Port, though Enrique was focusing in the other direction to the endless sea. He was amazed at the nature of the landscape; just a nice calm and bright plain lied in front of him, like a safe haven, completely untouched from the rest of the world.

"Does this place have a train station?" He asked Waluigi, assuming he would know since he's lived in this land his entire life.

"I don't know." He replied, giving an unhelpful answer."I'm not one to know if there's a train station in this town or another, I don't memorise them I barely use the trains." Enrique ignored his response and focused on the south.

"Take this map, and go back home or Toad Town." He handed over the map of Résethal to Waluigi. "I'll see you in a few days most likely." Enrique stepped forward and strolled over to the southern tip of the island, carrying the other map and the scroll in his hands. Waluigi was speechless; looking worried at Enrique as he got further and further away.

"You don't belong here!" Waluigi shouted timidly and with a stutter, as if he was starting to shiver and cry.

"No, but I am liking it better here than you are." Enrique replied harshly. Waluigi gasped, feeling broken, causing him no choice but to return in the opposite direction off the island. He was distressed because he had never felt so upset before.

As for Enrique, he disregarded Waluigi's feelings and proceeded onward for his own enjoyment, getting a closer look at the horizon. The sun began to set now to the southwest, further complicating Enrique's idea of how this world orbits its sun. Neither the creatures of the land nor the human inhabitants ever came to a justified conclusion as to how the land was shaped in extraterrestrial terms.

He stood firmly on the edge of the southern cliff of Isle Port, overlooking the horizon, below was just the harsh waves of the sea with nothing else to see down below. The sound of the crashing waves soothed his mind while he stared in to the distance, admiring the southern tip of the entire land, wondering if there was anything south of this point. The sea went on for miles and miles without any stretch of land. A big curiosity that came into Enrique's head was whether or not anybody in the lands has ever set off on a boat going south and only south, and if they ever made it back. The waves looked rough, even for the time of day, making him think that it would be very unlikely for people to set off and return alive.

Another thought of his times here.

He looked back to see that Waluigi had completely disappeared from the island and the sun eventually began to set on the southwest horizon. Another part of this land is that everywhere shared the same time zone. Muhu Delfethal seemed roughly the size of Switzerland according to some documents Enrique studied in Aypyidaw a few years back, another one of Muji's notes. He decided to take a nice stroll back off the Island, still carrying the scroll and the map of the southern coastline with him. As he reached the town part of Isle Port, he began to think about where to stay for the night, since for a human like Enrique, he didn't really own a place. He had just been taking temporary residence in hotels across the land or other people's houses.

The sun had set quickly; the sky was almost completely dark. But the brightness of the lights of the town had shined luminously across the island that he could still see the house of the twins. He thought hopefully the kids would not return while he would sleep there for the night. If they were on Earth it would only take a matter of minutes to pass to make sure they wouldn't return to see him there. Enrique was very tired after travelling around all day and actually needed sleep in this land; he couldn't afford to warp back to Earth to make it day again like he had done for the past few days. The twins' house was the only option for miles.

...

Back in Toad Town, most people had left back to their places of residence. The Kongs back to the Jungle, the Toads back to their homes, the Koopas, Shy Guy, Kamek and Dry Bones returned northward to the plains of their homes. Few had remained in Mushroom City, with Wario and Tom still sitting in the circle of Toad Town even after everybody else had gone back to their homes.

"You ever wondered how everybody showed up in different karts; I would've thought that there'd be more Torpedoes, or at least a Bowser Bike." Tom asked Wario as the sun set on the horizon of the lands, all of the stars and galaxies could be seen in the night sky, even an idle Comet Observatory.

"There aren't many duplicate karts of bikes." Wario replied with knowledge. "Plus only a few were modified, you look at mine for example." Tom got up and walked over to the Wario Bike, looking larger than what he thought it would be. "You've got the extra frame at the back for the item carrier to grip on to, and there's more space around the sides for us to switch positions if need be. I'm usually the driver when we raced together before, but on a bike it might be difficult to swap." The back of the bike was extended and included a metal frame hanging near the back wheel. What made it difficult to swap positions on the bike was the large exhaust pipe ends, Wario sighed as he looked at them.

"Would you need to swap often though? Enrique and I agreed that I'd be the one driving for most of the races, Enrique wants to drive on his preferred race, whenever that will be." Tom suggested. It came to a big surprise to Wario as he had never considered that option, back in the 4th tournament of Double Dash most of the racers tended to swap every minute or so.

"I think there was a reason as to why we had to swap often. Maybe in this tournament there will be the double item blocks. That's the reason why we had to swap; when we drove over a double item block we each got an item."

"Can't you just give your item to Waluigi if he's in the back seat? It's not like it's obligatory to swap just to throw weapons."

"Well, we all had to obey the rule that the person at the back had to throw the items. That was just how it went." Wario stated, giving a sign of an old rule. "Disqualification of the race was possible if people disobeyed this."

Tom laughed when he heard Wario say disqualification. "We cannot get disqualified in this tournament; this one can be the most vicious one yet. If you want to throw things in front of you, maybe this time they'd let the driver be able to throw ahead with one hand. I don't know, we'll see on the day, we weren't really told anything about that today."

"No." Wario agreed. "Everyone was silent and patient, but on the day of the first race everyone will be rivals with each other... mostly." He looked at Tom and the two laughed.

"You can't hate us, unless we have the lightning bolt!" The two laughed loudly again.

"Don't be bullet billing on the last lap!" Wario joked.

"Steal the first place!" Tom joked along. "By the way, we're having a 6th tournament item roster, how do you stop a POW block?" Wario was struck into deep thought.

"It's been so long ago since, I think we just had to hop and hope, or obviously be in the air." The two laughed a bit more before seeing Waluigi arrive from the southern woods, without Enrique. Waluigi didn't seem very well, but he was trying to cover his emotions up.

"What's wrong? Brother?" Wario asked with ease, quickly approaching Waluigi.

"Nothing much, just the future you know." Waluigi sobbed, looking down for most of his upset. He looked up and turned his head towards Tom, who was still sitting down, unaware of Waluigi's true sadness. "Do you see it too?" He questioned loudly to Tom.

"See what? The collapse?"

Waluigi nodded.

Tom got up and walked over to the two, looking both upset and silent, though Waluigi showed it more. "What did Enrique say to you?"

Waluigi was still silent for a bit.

"What did he say?" Wario asked as well, getting very protective over Waluigi.

"It was his approach to me." He finally spoke out, wiping the sweat off of his face. "We went to a house to collect some things, showing all about what could happen during and after these races. I have only realised now how bad it will turn out for all of us."

"What does he mean by this?" Wario looked at Tom, expecting he had an answer. He also took the map off of Waluigi that he had in his right hand, showing a colour-coded map of the north. "Why do you have this?"

"What he means... is now that Bowser and Peach are not keeping everybody occupied in their 'gentle' war, a group of evil neutral Koopas and Goombas named the Hostiles are further developing their forces established in the north and create riots and violence to people who support either Peach or Bowser. There have been loads of citizens who convert to join them, and that's what Waluigi's worried about I'm guessing." Tom explained, having a look at the map opened up and held by Wario. He recognised the map design; it was one of the makes of the twins. It came to Tom's thought that Waluigi and Enrique took a journey to the southern island of Isle Port to the twins' house where they live in this land.

"Were the twins at home when you visited them?" He asked Waluigi.

"No." He replied, looking back south to the woods where he thought Enrique would be.

"Of course not." Tom said frustratingly. "Those two have been in hiding ever since they vanished from the Powerhouse. They've been hiding however."

"Yeah I agree." Wario replied. "Since when did we all know that they moved to that house in the centre of that quiet island?"

"We found out earlier in 2014, but who knows how long they've actually been there for."

"We need their help." Waluigi suggested. "They're always good at staying out of the events that happen. The true neutrals."

Wario sighed at the statement just said by Waluigi, knowing for sure that it would not be possible. "What if they are staying out of this upcoming event by disappearing?"

"Wario... Those two have not been sighted ever since Enrique and I got here." Waluigi shivered as Tom mentioned Enrique again.

"Let's go back to Isle Port." Wario ordered. "Maybe we can find Enrique or anything else useful about the Hostiles; we should get as much information about them as possible before the races. Aypyidaw is too far to get information from the Red Martyr Council, so this house on the island will have to do." Tom nodded in agreement.

"Ride your bike there, will be much faster." He thought. Tom walked back to his Standard Kart M and Wario and Waluigi hopped on to their modified Wario Bike, both already set to 150cc. Waluigi signalled the direction to go in the woods, leading downhill into the plain that lied on the edge of the coastline, and in a few seconds, they drove off. Wario and Waluigi sped off in to the woods whilst Tom calmly proceeded on at a steady pace through the woods. He gulped as he watched the other two drift and speed down the hill professionally. As he reached the bottom his eyes were attracted to the moon, shining luminously in the dark sky, creating a very attractive reflection in the sea. Thankfully his kart didn't lay dirt marks on the grassland, as he was also careful and admired by the untouched grassland meadow. He was surprised to see such a strip of land untouched by most people despite being very close to the largest city in the entire land: Mushroom City. Tom looked around at the clear landscape, unable to spot Enrique in any bit of the area. He noticed Wario and Waluigi headed onto the road and drove on towards the bridge to Isle Port.

"Keeping up, Tom?" Wario joked as they saw him emerge from the woods.

"Waluigi knows where to go. I'll follow." He called from the distance before driving on to the road and heading straight to Isle Port. The road was still empty; the place seemed very desolate despite being very close to Mushroom City. Again, another big surprise about this area. Tom could feel a nice cool breeze blushing on his face as he drove quickly against the sea winds on to the island, completely ignoring any citizen that might be on the bridge driving by. The street lights of the town were lit, yet it still seemed abandoned. After looking around for a bit as he drove by, he finally noticed two Toad citizens inside the town bar by looking through the dusty looking windows.

"This place is not quite abandoned." Tom said as he stopped his kart by the end of the concrete road, next to the Wario Bike parked on the edge.

"Over there looks abandoned." Wario pointed towards the large marble house in the centre of the island.

"Wait a minute, why are there lights on?" Waluigi mentioned making the other two's eyes widen in surprise.

"Let's go." Tom proceeded on as quickly as he could onto the dirt path. Wario and Waluigi nodded in agreement to try and go as fast as they could and try to overtake Tom in his kart. They left roughly five seconds after Tom drove off of the concrete road. As Tom had reached the outside of the twins' house, he counted up to six as Wario and Waluigi stopped next to him.

"Too slow?" Tom mocked.

"What do you mean?" Wario said acting confused.

"We weren't racing you." Waluigi lied. "Don't try it."

"I knew it, you two waited exactly five seconds." Tom laughed, knowing he was right. He gave a big cheesy smile at the other two as they grinned.

"You got lucky." Wario joked. "Now let's have a look inside." The three got out of their vehicles and walked up the stairs to the front door. They all heard sounds of movement, someone was definitely at home. Tom quickly rushed upstairs of the house to the open room where he heard the sounds. Enrique quickly emerged out of one of the beds, wearing only his pants and his socks. His clothes lay on the other bed.

"Enrique?"

"Why are you here?"

"Put some clothes on..." Tom said quickly and then slowly as Wario and Waluigi ran quickly up the stairs and approached behind him. The two goons burst into laughter with each other at seeing Enrique half naked.

"I wanted to sleep, Tom, and you brought those two here?" He yelled, quickly moving over to the other bed to put his black clothes back on as the two kept laughing.

"Were you trying to sleep here? In a kid's house?" Waluigi joked around.

"Why are you laughing a few minutes ago you were sobbing to me." The laughter ceased immediately. "Who's laughing now, eh?" Enrique put his shirt and trousers back on, still leaving his black trench coat on the bed. "We aren't on good terms exactly Waluigi, are we?"

"Enrique, relax, it's just a little bit of humour." Tom said to Enrique trying to calm his rising anger.

"You know what he said to me? 'We don't belong here'." Enrique argued back, making Tom look at Waluigi, who turned red and quiet.

"Both of you can shut up as we find out what to do." Tom said in a ceasefire way, moving over to the shelves of books and scrolls.

"What are you looking for now?" Enrique asked.

"Information about the Hostiles." Tom replied, searching through all the stolen or self-made books of the twins. Wario and Waluigi gave bad looks at Enrique as they all walked over to the shelves.

"We already checked that when Waluigi was here the first time." Enrique mentioned to Tom as he looked through more. Tom stopped searching and turned his head to him.

"So all you're saying is the only useful things Waluigi managed to collect from here was a map of Résethal?" He yelled to Enrique, provoking an argument. However, Enrique was too tired to reply back loudly again.

"There was not much else, this is the twins' house after all, if you want real information go and ask the council. They're basically at war with the hostiles right now and are doing a damn good job to not get any of the citizens involved." Tom looked back to Wario and Waluigi and sighed.

"It's true." He said. "There's nothing much we can do except let time go by until the races, we can't afford to miss them."

"Go home you two." Enrique ordered the two to leave. Tom grinned anxiously, embarrassed at Enrique as they left going downstairs in a tantrum. They walked over to one of the windows to see them drift quickly away from the house and soon off of the island.

"I hate those two already, and it's the first time I've spoken to them in ages." Enrique fell back on to the left bed next to his trench coat, whilst Tom moved over towards the right bed and took of his coat.

"Seems like what they said is true, everybody's going to be rivals with each other." Tom stated. "It will be so much worse on the day of the first race."

"I don't care if we don't belong here as well, we are here now and we can't be stopped, we're too strong for them." Enrique said overconfidently.

"Perhaps, but speaking of rivals, who exactly are we... not, rivals with?" Tom questioned. Enrique looked up on his bed thinking.

...

"Rosalina?" Enrique suggested.

"Mhm."

Enrique turned over, looking at Tom across on the other bed. "Are you on good terms with Peach and Daisy?"

"I'm pretty certain that I am. Why?"

"Basically the other day Peach forced me out of her castle and got in a real bad mood all of a sudden." Tom laughed at the end of his sentence.

"Was Peach drinking at the time?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"Listen." Tom announced. "Whatever has happened between you and them recently, she and Daisy are both on good terms with you, Peach is only angry when she's had too much to drink. Ever since the New Year she's gone back to drinking loads again. I remember she would drink a lot when we were here the first time, same with Daisy and then they stopped when we dealt with the north. Looks like she's back to her 'war' self again." Enrique acknowledged with nods throughout.

"What about Yoshi and Toad? Toadbert and that lot." He suggested.

"They don't know us, so my guess would be no if they think we conspire with Bowser, plus we're neutral and they wouldn't like that."

"So that's a no."

"Indeed. But it doesn't matter, we made it in to the races and they must go on." Enrique grinned, looking back up to the ceiling.

"Let's get some sleep." Tom ordered. "I didn't sleep last night, I skipped last night, and I've been doing that very often. At least we can get sleep the night before each race as well."

"Yep." Enrique laughed. "If anything dangerous happens, we can easily escape the lands as well thanks to the warps, Muji is a legend. I really want to see him again one day; I hope all is good in the north." Tom brushed his forehead in anxiety.

"Umm, yeah definitely. Maybe you can visit him tomorrow; we don't exactly have a schedule of what to do, just show up to Mushroom City on the 15th I guess."

"Gotta love this place." Enrique smiled before wrapping himself in the bed duvet. He looked away from Tom as he took off most of his clothes before getting in to his bed.

"This isn't even our house." Tom joked, making them both laugh. "Now good night bro."

"Night Tom..."

 **January 11, 2015 (1) – 1:00AM**

 **Aypyidaw City, Southwest R** **é** **sethal**

"TOAD DOWN, TOAD DOWN!" A Koopa defender yelled from the walls next to the front gates. Several fighters rushed toward the incident where a Koopa spotted a Toad Guard lying down, bloodied from the neck.

"Looks like a dart of some sort." A brave Koopa pointed out, looking closely at the dead Toad's body.

"Make way! A council member is here!" A Goomba yelled at the gathered crowd of fighters surrounding the body.

"What's happened? Let me through!" Eoréc Jones, a high-ranking member of the Red Martyr Council, rushed forward and joined the crowd looking at the dead Toad. "Any ideas?"

"Hostile most likely, darted him from afar. We don't even know who could've done it." A random Toad from the crowd suggested. He was a near-witness, only seeing what had happened after the Toad had been hit by the dart. Eoréc put his fingers over to the Toad's neck, no pulse was detected.

"It could be a Hostile from any of the northern towns." Another Koopa stated.

"But it's happening too often now, they're slowly whittling our ranks and we need to take action. Send word to the leaders, they must know of this treachery coming from the northwest." A couple of the fighters in the crowd rushed away, showing no deep emotion of the lost life, though that is what the martyrs were trained for: to die one day with honour.

"Hostiles are rising mostly in the northwest, scattered across the lands however. There might still be some to the east in the towns near Vurduresa." A Koopa fighter informed Eoréc as they stared out in to the forests northward.

"I say we take action and start ceasing these Hostiles before it is too late." Eoréc proclaimed.

"But there are still innocents in those towns. We will be hurting innocent lives, that's not in our conduct." The Koopa fighter frustrated Eoréc.

"We have to save more lives in the long run, and besides, we can always vacate the innocents." He looked around to see more people guarding the walls around the town's main part. "Night duty is over, all get some rest." A Koopa in the crowd sounded a horn twice, alerting all guards to go off-duty and the front and station gates of the town were closed down. Eoréc led the rest of the squadron on the walls back down to the main open area of Aypyidaw, as they reached the bottom all of the Koopas, Toads and Goombas split up, going in to their houses to rest for the night. Only Eoréc and a few others proceeded in to the main building to meet the other high-ranking council members currently in Aypyidaw, where the body was taken to.

The fighters entered the main hall, where they could see Muji, Ledro, Koover and a few other members, all assessing and mourning the dead body.

"You've ordered us to close our defences for the night." Muji stated, standing directly on the other side of the table where the corpse rested from Eoréc.

"Our watchmen need rest; he should've spotted the spy who shot him down." Eoréc mentioned.

"We will have to deal with this issue in the morning then."

"It still bugs me, the fact that we've lost three ever since the start of this year. I knew the Hostiles were actually getting somewhere." He rested his fists on the table, looking around at all of the other members.

"I suggest we plan a mission soon, we can do this while the common folk are distracted by the events happening south. Especially the innocents, they will want to go down south and watch." Ledro stated.

"What if there's a race in the north, people here will want to watch, innocents and Hostiles alike." Muji warned. The other members discussed amongst themselves as the high-rankers listened in.

"Some of us can go to the towns where the Hostiles originate from. Gather information, prepare a skirmish, and rout any evil-doers and leaders amongst them." Eoréc decided. "As for the rest of us, we make sure that no single vermin we call Hostile ever sets foot with a weapon or bomb or any causer of violence and danger in to the viewing areas."

"We shall decide on that tomorrow, Archbarn will be around to talk, he's under an illness at the moment so he's had an early night." Muji informed.

"Look in to all the nearby towns that we have marked as hostile, those ones are the towns we must inspect. We have to find who's in charge." Koover stated, covering up the dead Toad as everybody finished mourning the body.

"Get some rest everybody, a storm is brewing, and it's full of evil-doers. We must protect the innocents, even if it means our lives." Muji ordered everyone to exit the main room. He, Eoréc and Ledro walked out through the back door and up stairs to their rooms. Archbarn lay fast asleep in his room to the left of the top of the stairs. Ledro looked out of the window overlooking the town; it was so unusual to see nobody outside during any time of the day or night.

"Let's hope there's nobody in the council who is secretly working for the hostiles." He said to the others as they got changed ready to sleep in their dormitories.

"I think we can trust everybody who is currently with us, or has been since 2010 when we first took action." Eoréc replied positively. "Jeanette would be the only problem inside the council.

"Jeanette broke an oath she swore to keep until the day she dies. She is not part of the council any longer." Muji replied lawfully. "If any one of us catches sight of Koopak _or_ her, kill them on sight. I will announce this in the morning." The other two were shocked at Muji's changed attitude.

"She's now an accomplice I guess." Ledro agreed.

"Koopak's crimes across the years have caused the deaths of many, nows the appropriate time to find him while all his followers would be busy watching the races." Muji mentioned to the others, just before he signalled lights out. "Tomorrow's a big day." He closed his dormitory door which lied next to Archbarn's. Eoréc and Ledro went in to their dorms which were on the opposite side of the room.

"So many things are happening at once, Ledro." Eoréc said before he closed his door. "We're now at war with the Hostiles, and we're still looking for Koopak after Jeanette betrayed us."

"We'll sort it out tomorrow, get some sleep." Ledro closed his door and turned his light off. Eoréc looked out of his dormitory window facing the town, it was in darkness. Everybody had already gone to sleep or at least turned their lights off. He feared that the bloodshed of his fellows would start to occur more often. Eoréc has seen what the Hostiles are like and how they are far more violent than Bowser's armies. What was worrying him the most is he's start to notice the disappearance of low-ranking council members, perhaps to be converted into the Hostiles' antics of warfare, or just to live without serving any higher purpose but themselves.

He turned his light off and went to sleep.

 **EOC: I'm going to guess that I would have Mushroom City begin on Chapter 10 or 11, there's just too much stuff to write about, thankfully I am writing loads quickly and I'm being thorough with it by not rushing. If I went straight to the races there'd be so much left out and it wouldn't be so good. The good thing is you're all appreciating and enjoying it so far.**

 **Any queries please give a review of PM me. Check my profile for any useful information as well related to the fanfic lore so far.**

 **I also have a flowchart of all the characters SO FAR and how they're all related. If you want to see, PM me and I'll send it over.**


	8. The Red Martyrs

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 8 – The Red Martyrs

 **A/N: for a list of all contenders for the races and their selected vehicles, have a look at the start of Chapter 7 if you want to recall them.**

 **By now you probably would have already read the previous chapters or prequels, or are just viewing this as it's been recently released.**

 **Disclaimer: It's getting a bit difficult to determine if a character is Canon or OC at this point, but still anything owned by Nintendo is not mine.**

 **January 11, 2015 – 9:45AM**

 **Aypyidaw City, Southwest Résethal**

Sunshine.

Though the atmosphere didn't appreciate it, it was a rough morning in the town of Aypyidaw. Over 30 of the remaining Red Martyrs gathered in the great hall where Archbarn and Muji set alongside the other high-ranking members ready to announce the upcoming plans. The room was silent, with the main four sitting in front of the rest.

"Red Martyrs, I guess you all know the incident of our late Toad friend who was killed whilst guarding the city, he died for the cause." Archbarn announced.

"He died for the cause." All the other Martyr members followed quietly.

"This is the third casualty we have had this year, and it shall hopefully be the last that dies within the borders of our ground. We must go out in to the open lands of the north and put an end to the rising force that is the Hostiles." He continued. The martyrs all seated themselves.

Ledro remained stood up, looking at all of the members sitting in the great hall. "Our plan has been confirmed this morning; we must send a scouting skirmish using our stealthiest troops. We will tour a small set of towns north of the rail tracks to Dargo. Though we will not be going there because it is considered very dangerous to scout, we will visit some other small towns in the northwest. These cities include the following: Ryanne, Tustar, Rymhell, Sennus, and we will be inspecting Wario Colosseum." The people at the front could hear the muttering of discussion amongst all those who sat inside the room. "Anybody willing to join me on this scouting mission please stand up." Ledro finished. He saw several members of different species ascend up saluting him, ready to leave as soon as he decided. Among those who stood up, Koover was one of them, willing to join Ledro on the mission. He announced the disembarking in an hour, when everybody would be geared up and ready to go.

"As for other news." Muji took over. "Guard duty will resume as normal, but we need a select few to monitor the largest towns of the north and their stations at night, to see if anybody is making a trip south and would potentially cause any harm. Dismissed."

The council went off in their own ways, most going outside to train or to do other things in their lives. Ledro escorted those who stood up for him outwards via a door to the left, leading to a negotiation room. Those who remained inside the great hall were Archbarn, Muji, and Eoréc.

"I wouldn't be surprised if one of ours doesn't make it back from that mission of Ledro's." Archbarn sobbed whilst sitting at the great hall table. Muji looked at him with disbelief, contemplating the purpose of the council again.

"The best way to go into a Hostile town is as a Hostile." He said. "Let's just hope that none of the towns he visits have Hostiles in them."

"I've heard one of the towns he had mentioned is known for murdering innocent people." Eoréc stated. The other two looked across the table at him in surprise.

"Which town did he mention?" Muji asked.

"Sennus." He replied. "It's one of the northernmost villages in the land, closest to 'Beyond the North', I have been there once before when I was younger, I saw innocent people who tried to travel northward slain by Koopas there. I've also seen those Hostiles slay messengers of Bowser himself."

"It's a funny thing actually." Archbarn interrupted. "Most of the areas of hostility in Résethal lie to the far east near Vurduresa and Urscan. They used to be the main areas of battle in the years back and even in The Great War. However the places considered most dangerous are the outlying towns and including Dargo."

"They have weapons in Dargo, dangerous ones. Peach never wants to step foot in that town or anywhere near it again." Eoréc mentioned.

"Let's hope for the best for Ledro and his men then..."

 _ROUGLY AT THE SAME TIME..._

 **Isle Port, South Mushroom Kingdom**

"Hey... Tom."

"Tom?"

He slapped his face lightly.

"Tom, wake up!"

"What?" Tom said with his eyes closed, half asleep."

"Rosalina's outside."

"WHAT? Why is she here?"

"I don't know, but she's almost at the door."

"Hello? Is anybody home?" She called from the front door.

"I'll see her, you get dressed." Enrique whispered to Tom before dashing off down the stairs.

"Rosalina."

"Enrique? What brings you here? There's no race track to practice here!" She mocked him as she saw him descend down the stairs.

"Very funny." He said monotonously. "Tom and I were resting here for the night; we... went a bit out of our way in things and ended up in this-."

"Lovely house belonging to those two kids." She interrupted. "Where are they anyway? I got so happy when I saw the front door open thinking they were at home."

"We thought the same really, nobody's actually seen them ever since we got here... got in to this world." Enrique said, just as they noticed Tom walk down the stairs as well to meet them.

"Yeah, we haven't found them here." He added. Rosalina gave out a loud sigh, walking around the main room. "So why are you here then?" Tom asked her.

"They're neither at the Spire nor at the Powerhouse. I noticed something when I was there last; it looks like the power running the northern towns is going to have a shutout soon. If that happens, the riots will happen again because they're the only ones who can save the power and they're not here right now!" She gradually got worried the more she spoke. Tom and Enrique still looked at her normally. "I want to see the council about this, maybe they know where the twins are."

"What if those passcodes used to change the power there are stored in one of the books they have upstairs?" Enrique suggested. "I've been to the Powerhouse before; I know what it's like." Rosalina brushed past the two of them quickly, making them turn around to look up and see what she might be looking for.

"You guys slept in their beds?" She yelled from upstairs, looking at the unmade beds. Enrique giggled as he crept up the stairs with Tom to already see some books on the floor even before seeing Rosalina.

"Is there nothing you could find about it in the library in the comet observatory?" Tom suggested.

"Why would I have knowledge of this?" She replied sarcastically. "The books there are all about studying the galaxies and stars, not about powering a giant object in the middle of nowhere." Enrique and Tom looked at each other, confused at that statement.

"What does that remind me of?" Tom laughed.

"Isn't that what your spaceship thing is? A giant object in the middle of nowhere." Enrique added whilst seeing more books drop to the floor.

"Listen here, I don't think the passcodes are actually going to help." Tom pointed out. "They won't help you fix a shutout on the power supply of the Spire." Rosalina looked back at both of them after removing almost every book off of the shelves. She looked at them furiously as they sat down on the stairs looking careless.

"You two don't know how dangerous this is." She lectured. "If the power breaks, we get another war against the north. It will clash with the races and all those who will be watching us while we race are at risk of being killed in attacks led by them. We'll be caught off guard and that's when they'll attack us." The two became more serious about the agenda now, getting up and cleaning the dust off their clothes.

"So you're saying... war could break out any time soon?" Enrique thought.

Rosalina nodded.

"Then we ride to the council. We can see what they have to say about it." Tom planned.

"Where's the nearest station?" Enrique asked, looking at Rosalina.

"Mushroom City is too much of a risk to go to, so the nearest one should be Elhelm, a small town to the west, just after Peach Beach."

"Before we go." Enrique interrupted the others from leaving the house. "Can we get some food?" The other two looked at him quietly, and then looked at each other, remembering something very important in life: to always stay well-nourished.

"But is there food in this house? All I can spot is the fruit bowl over there." Tom pointed to across the room. There were a couple of bananas and an apple, looking rather fresh surprisingly. Enrique rushed over to the bowl and scoffed some of the apple immediately.

"Are you going to have some, Rosalina?" Tom asked as he walked over to the fruit bowl.

"No thanks, Tom. I've already... eaten this morning." She replied slowly.

"Well take care of yourself." He warned positively as he peeled one of two bananas he picked up from the bowl. Enrique went and took a banana as well and put it in his pocket to eat on the way there.

As the three humans walked outside they were blinded by the bright sunlight shining directly above them. It was a very hot and summer-like day in the South, much like the hot summers on Earth, even for January.

"Oh sweet, you got our kart parked here outside." Enrique stated, looking at the Standard Kart M, untouched by Wario and Waluigi from last night.

"Are we gonna take that with us or?" Tom thought.

"Leave it here." Enrique ordered. "We can pick it up when we get ready for Mushroom City." He then looked at Rosalina. "Which way?"

She pointed across the sea from the island to the mainland going westwards. "Elhelm is just in front of Peach Beach. It's the town that lies next to it."

"That place looks a lot like Delfino Plaza." Enrique spotted as he peeked in to the distance whilst they strolled towards the Isle Port cliffs on the northwest side, overlooking the shores of the mainland.

"Every town along the coast here has a similar look and design, all the way from Sirenna Beach which is furthest east to the Isle Delfino itself. Elhelm just happens to be the one that Peach used to enjoy her younger years at, so they named the beach after her." Rosalina explained. The three had just reached the main town, still looking across the sea whilst making their way across the beach.

"It's very interesting." Enrique added. "Why does Isle Port look different to the rest then?"

"Because Isle Port is quite new, you see all the buildings here look very modern and different to the rest." She responded, demonstrating her use of time here by analysing the entire land. "I know this place like the back of my mind." She ended.

The three crossed the bridge and returned to the meadow plain that stretched along the southern coastline. There was no direct road to Elhelm from Isle Port, so the best way to go was by foot along the colourful grassland and then down a hill to the Beach or straight in to the town. The sun reflected light down to Peach Beach and into their eyes. As they proceeded closer to the town centre the grassland faded away into a dirt and brick pathway. The cliffs that stood below the bridge to Isle Port continued all the way along to the town, the three were already standing with the first buildings of the town directly in front of them. Tom could already notice that a building further in the town had a giant billboard representing advertisement for the races.

"Tickets for sale now." He read to the others. "Payment in coins, two gold coins per seat." He could not read the rest as the text was too small; he nudged the others indicating the need to get a closer look.

The town looked very busy, and they were nowhere near the beach or the train station. Thankfully the Toads and Piantas of the town seemed uninterested in the arrival of the three, letting walk freely.

"Peach has already announced all the races so far, and has put a price on them." Tom continued.

"Mushroom City on the 15th, Yoshi Valley on the 17th, Mushroom City on the 19th. They seem to be on every other day." Enrique pointed out. "Shy Guy Falls being on the 29th."

"We need to get to the station to see if there's a train going northward. Come on boys!" Rosalina rushed ahead, running across the roads and heading northward towards the station. Tom looked up noticing the directions to the station were true in Rosalina's path, but he only decided to follow on by walking. Enrique doing the same.

Rosalina eventually arrived to the station, situated underground. It was a very small station, with only one platform travelling each way. One towards Mushroom City and Sirenna Beach, the other going towards Delfino. She needed to look at the train times to plan the journey, to see if there would be a need to switch trains at a specific station. As Tom and Enrique arrived they all looked up at the times board together.

 **7 min – Mushroom City (M) – P2**

 **29 min – Hern Way, via Sutfort (D) – P1**

 **31 min – Sirenna Beach (M) – P2**

"By my assumptions on where we're going, it's going to be quite a wait here." Enrique stated.

"We will have to stop at Seven Farms on the way to Hern, and then we will have to get a train north." Rosalina constructed. "One thing I do hate about being down on Earth is I can't get fast travel."

"Best to go and explore the town then." Enrique led Tom out of the station and walked down the road to the fountain in the centre of town, overlooking Peach Beach. For quite the busy town it was surprising for the two to see nobody on the beach. This gave them the thought that perhaps it's going to be used as a race.

"You think we'll race here one day?" Tom asked. "It's possible Peach has already seen our races, somebody might've picked here."

"Nope." Enrique replied, leaning against the barrier on the side next to the fountain. "This race isn't cool enough." He decided to climb over the barrier and get on to the track. Tom was startled and many other citizens noticed him get over. Tom could only think to climb over to see him as well, knowing for sure he wouldn't come back if he told him to. They could both hear commotion in the crowds building up as the two breached over.

"We have a train to catch; I don't want us dawdling around this track." Tom persuaded. "They might call the brigade on us!"

"Free Passage, remember?" Enrique joked back as he jumped over towards the centre patch of grass, encircled by the circuit track. Tom sighed and ran after him, getting a great view of not only the sea and Peach Beach, but the entire town of Elhelm behind them including a large mob of worrying citizens. They noticed the constant high tide of the waves was what kept the sea level of the centre changing. Enrique moved his head slowly upwards whilst staring at the centre pool of water, only to notice a familiar island laying a few hundred metres off shore: Palm Shore.

"Why are you here of all places, Enrique? Why can't you just do something that doesn't get everybody's attention for once?" Tom complained, giving a bad look to Enrique while he just stared directly to the southern sea.

"Because I get amazed at this place, don't you?" He replied. "You can do what you want to do; I'm not going to stop you. Because I sure know that you won't stop me from doing what I please around here." His harsh words moved Tom emotionally.

"Yeah, alright. Just get back to the station in time." Tom said, backing away from Enrique and slowly approaching the town centre again.

"We still have 22 minutes." He replied before turning back facing the sea. Tom watched as Enrique slid down to the sandy part of the beach, turning left as he got to the bottom of the rocky cliff face. Tom rubbed his sweaty face and rushed back in to Elhelm. He saw the crowd of citizens stare at Tom happily as he climbed over the race track barrier. The look of their smiles gave him relief when he got back down, though he was lost for words to say to them all. Tom decided to rush back to the train station and wait there hoping to see if Rosalina was there as well. All of the citizens turned their heads as he got out of their way and up the road, remaining still.

"Where's Enrique?" Rosalina asked Tom as he reached the platform.

He looked back outside and to the beach. "Over there." Tom pointed to the shores beyond the sight of buildings. Rosalina facepalmed and looked back at the train time board, they still had 15 minutes. Tom looked around in the train station and noticed even more posters and boards advertising the races. Peach must have gone fully out on the advertising.

"Haven't you noticed how publicised these races have been? This is supposed to be Bowser's death request not an official tournament." Rosalina, who was also looking around at the posters, complained to Tom.

"Treat it like one then." Tom replied. "You'll play better if you value it more." She acknowledged his improvised wise words.

"She wants the whole world to watch it, knowing her she's got the creatures in space watching it too from live broadcasting." Rosalina thought.

"Which Rainbow Road did you choose?"

"Not the recent one, that one was shit." The two walked over to a bench next to the train line and sat down.

"You probably know already, but Enrique and I are not going to be one of the best here. But you have the potential to win with Pauline, if you become the driver all the time." Tom said to Rosalina. "There's probably going to be a big gap between the best players and the next best players."

"I agree with you there, I am going to be the driver, it's my bike." She replied. "Bowser's going to be a problem, Funky Kong is going to be a problem, Peach Daisy, Mario Luigi, Wario Waluigi might be a problem, nobody else seems that dangerous to first place."

After more time had passed, Enrique showed up at the station, turning towards the other two after reading the board. The train was due to arrive in one minute. He strolled over quite happily towards them and stood against the wall next to them, waiting for the train to arrive.

"So where did you bugger off to in the end?" Rosalina asked him, waiting a while for a reply.

"Just took a stroll on the beach." He replied. "Wanted to get a good look of the coastline, and just have a bit of exploration." Surprisingly, based on the lack of commotion coming from the citizens outside, Enrique did not seem to have done anything stupid. Nobody had followed him in to the station either.

"He does that often." Tom mentioned to Rosalina awkwardly. "The exploring bit." She looked back at Enrique.

"No problem with that." She replied in a high pitch, still staring at him while he watched an incoming train from the east approach the platform. The carriages looked very busy on the inside, though the first carriage seemed empty. Rosalina got up and led the other two down the platform to get on to the first carriage. As the train slowed down, the citizens inside the train stared at them with widened eyes. Tom and Enrique did not bother to see anybody inside the train through the windows as they were walking along the platform next to the stationary train. After getting in through the first door to the front carriage, the three sat themselves down near the front. Two Koopas were reading newspapers further back in the carriage, but they didn't seem to pay attention to them as they sat down.

"Where do we get off at again?" Tom asked Rosalina.

"Seven Farms, then we take a train northward. Seven Farms is a very busy train station so be careful, it's almost as big as Mushroom City's station." She replied. She and Tom sat opposite each other on the right side of the train. Enrique moved over to the empty left side of the train, hoping to get a good view of the coastline.

 _This is the Platform 1 service to: Hern Way via Sutfort. Calling at: Frinméy Beach, Ardror, Gelato Beach, Winnick, Seven Farms, Bianco Hills, Noki Port, Sutfort, Hilltop Valley, Frilid Beach, Delfino Outlying Islands Port, Eksar, and Hern Way. Change at Seven Farms for trains to: Delfino Capital, Allam Junction and Donut Plains._

"5 stops, only to Seven Farms. This is going to be a while." Tom counted in his head.

Enrique looked back at him from constantly staring out the window. "What's the rush?" He then looked back at Rosalina, who pulled a stressed expression. "Oh, right."

"We just need to get there today, it's not like the power's going to cut." Rosalina sighed.

The train disembarked from the platform, heading quickly out at a high speed. As it left the station, the open fields and meadow look appeared again and Enrique could see the colourful coast again. It's like it was never cloudy in the south. He saw big green flat plains of grass leading to a change in yellow for the bright sand. Also there were stretches of brick blocks flying in the air, completely untouched. In his mind he thought that could be a couple of coins just like that. It's a real shame he wasn't out there to collect them. He wondered: how could those blocks have coins in them and no Toad has ever gone and knocked them out? That's a set of tickets for the whole family.

"It's illegal now." Rosalina said to Enrique, who caught him wondering about them as he looked at more and more of them whenever they passed by them.

 _The next Station is: Frinméy Beach_

"Any break of those blocks above ground is considered against the law; if caught the punishment is a fine equal to 5 times the amount of coins you got from them." She mentioned. The law must be relatively new since Enrique and Tom used to break blocks for coins for years.

"Wow, but underground you can knock them down?" He asked as the train stopped at the platform of Frinméy Beach Station. He managed to get a straight view from the station straight down to the beach from where he was sitting.

"Most underground areas are lawless now anyway. So you can freely get coins down there, but there's the risk of getting your way up safely, and since it's lawless, nothing's gonna stop creatures down there from attacking and maybe killing you." Enrique seemed baffled, quickly turning his head back to face the window. One Toad citizen entered the carriage, taking up a seat opposite one of the two Koopas already on board. Shortly after he sat down, the train disembarked out of the station, going onward at a high speed again. Tom looked bored out of his head. He was never a fan of the trains or the trains back on Earth when he was younger. Both he and Rosalina sat in awkward silence opposite each other on the train whilst Enrique still looked amazed, staring at the outside. The shoreline became further away as the train tracks turned away from it, though the bright green grassland still amazed him. The train then passed a series of ponds of clear water, still fulfilling Enrique's amazement for a few minutes.

 _The next Station is: Ardror_

"What's special about this town then?" Tom asked Rosalina, attempting to start a conversation to get rid of the awkward silence.

"Nothing." She replied blandly. "This town's even smaller than Frinméy, and there are bigger towns that don't even have a train station." Tom looked up ahead to see a typical desolate settlement with two train tracks running through the centre. He caught sight of a road which led up a hill which he assumed would go towards a bigger town or onto a highway or motorway equivalent.

"Well are there any interesting towns on our route to Aypyidaw?" He asked, still trying to keep up the conversation. Rosalina thought for a moment. Tom looked over to Enrique to see him no longer looking out the window, but trying to read another Koopa's newspaper cover. Enrique was unable to send the message over to Tom on what the cover said, but he assumed it would most likely be advertisement about the races.

The train stopped at the station.

"It depends on how we get to Aypyidaw via Seven Farms; Donk City is a pretty interesting town. We might pass Allam Junction, that's a pretty busy place. We also might pass Uldersal, where Koopak's family lives. Did you know Koopak II has a brother?" Tom gasped.

"Really, do people want him dead too? What's his name?" He replied with enthusiasm.

"Joharnés Asquia is his name, people want him, but not dead. He's not as bad as the rest of his family. He lives in Uldersal with the rest of the family, but don't go near their area of the town, it's dangerous."

The train took off again. Nobody had entered nor exited the carriage.

"But we might pass Uldersal, we might not." Rosalina concluded. Enrique's face brightened up as he began to see the coastline again. The train travelled downhill on its track towards the next town.

 _The next Station is: Gelato Beach_

"Ooh, Gelato Beach!" Enrique said happily, he moved over to the seat opposite, facing towards the towns ahead of him. Gelato Beach stuck out, just like how Enrique remembered in the game. The entire place looked very similar to how he thought it would be, with the only different parts being the train station situated just on the hill lying next to the beach. He noticed all of the palm trees and the same beach coastline pattern. It all appeared much more detailed though.

"This one's quite busy." Rosalina said to Tom as the train stopped; outside the window they noticed several Toads and Piantas board the train. Five citizens sat themselves on each available seat they could see. One broad-looking Toad moved inwards to sit next to Tom, discomforting him and looking at Rosalina with a cheesy smile. However, nobody sat opposite Enrique; his seats and the ones opposite him were empty yet there would be Piantas and Toads sitting next to each other. Tom was afraid to say anything else now that a citizen was sitting right next him. Rosalina faced the window so Tom did the same as the train disappeared from the station at a fast speed.

"How many stops?" Enrique asked Rosalina.

"Two." She replied softly, looking back out the window again. Enrique looked around to see all of the citizens occupying themselves on board. One Toad had already got a ticket to the Mushroom Bridge race event in his hand. He stared at it in his hands, looking happily possessing it. Enrique looked more closely at it to see if there was any stacked underneath the ticket the Toad was holding. The Toad quickly looked up and noticed Enrique and gave a big smile. Enrique gave a nod in return. The Toad gestured if he was able to walk over and sit next to Enrique, but he refused so the Toad would not be able to see Rosalina and Tom. He looked out the window to see if he could see the coast one more time, but it had disappeared.

 _The next Station is: Winnick_

The small town approached ahead, it had a similar resemblance to Ardror being a very small town with no beach and with a train line running through the middle. Being slightly bigger, as they approached some more people boarded the train. One Koopa got off the train as it stopped and two more appeared in the carriage. One being a Pianta sat at a seat further back on the carriage whilst the other Koopa approached the seats next to Enrique, who quickly gestured again to refuse the Koopa from sitting down opposite him. The Koopa reached far enough to notice Tom and Rosalina sitting on the other side. Annoyingly enough for Enrique, the Koopa still sat down eagerly opposite him.

The train sped off again, heading now directly to Seven Farms.

"You're Enrique!" He chanted quietly. Enrique just nodded silently in return. The Koopa showed him tickets he had in his pocket, four for his family all to see the Mushroom City race and four more to see the Maple Treeway race.

"You bought those tickets just now?" He asked monotonously.

"Yup." The Koopa replied. "Only in a few days, where are you heading to? Shouldn't you be practicing or something?" Enrique's expression dropped to a more disappointing look.

"That's none of your business." He replied. The Koopa turned his head towards the bored-looking Tom and Rosalina, both not used to having many people on the carriage. "Where are you heading to?"

"Sutfort, I'm coming back from work, we were not called in for the afternoon. So I'm going to bring the good news to the family at home." He said happily despite not being able to work for the rest of that day. "I don't know how you two race, but my favourites to win are either Rosalina's team..." He looked back at Rosalina with a big smile; she gave an effortless neutral look back. "... and the Koopa Troopas."

"Interesting." Enrique deliberately tried to show as little care as possible to the content Koopa. "Are we there yet?" He asked Rosalina, embarrassing the Koopa.

"Almost here."

 _The next Station is: Seven Farms, change here for services to and beyond: Delfino Capital, Allam Junction and Donut Plains_

"Thank goodness." Enrique got up and walked over to the carriage exit doors, Tom and Rosalina got up as well and approached next to Enrique, with about three other citizens behind them also getting off.

"You'll have to see where we're going." Tom said to Rosalina as the train approached the platform to stop. "We barely take the train."

The train stopped and the doors opened. The station seemed overground, but it was huge and open. Rosalina rushed forward as they got off quickly, brushing past all of the citizens who were about to board the train they were just on. As they ascended some stairs towards the centre of the station, they met with another large screen showing all the upcoming train arrivals, there were tons.

 **Due – Hern Way via Sutfort (D) – P1**

 **3 min – Palmwood Station (M) – P11**

 **6 min – Zeltarc West via Sunset Wilds (W) – P5**

 **8 min – Mushroom City (M) – P2**

 **10 min – Castelia Station (R) – P10**

 **12 min – Aypyidaw Station via Allam Junction (R) – P8**

 **15 min – Tumark City via Hadrogar (W) – P6**

"We can go direct." Rosalina stated. "To Platform 8... Where that is!" The three looked around and realised they were surrounded by rushing Koopas, Toads, Goombas, Piantas and even Yoshis.

"That way!" Enrique pointed towards a sign reading 'Platforms 7 and 8' followed by an arrow indicating the direction.

Advertisements of the races were scattered all across the giant station. Some of the billboards even had posed pictures of Peach, Daisy, Mario and Luigi in racing gear. One relatively updated sign showed tickets to the Mushroom City races already sold out, though broadcasting was available for people to watch the race from their own homes.

As the three approached the platform, they had to wait a good while for the train to appear as the board next to the platform still showed 8 minutes until arrival. Rosalina, Tom and Enrique all stood patiently by the platform waiting...

"Tom? Enrique?" A human-sounding voice called from the distance. The three turned their heads to see a white human and a brown human rush forward to meet.

"Jack, nice to see you here." Tom shook Jack, the white human's hand in delight.

"Nice to see you three here too." He quickly moved over to shake Enrique's hand as well. The brown-skinned human stood patiently and awkwardly next to Jack as he greeted Rosalina. "This is my colleague slash friend. Ronald Rodriguez."

"I don't think we've met before, nice to meet you." Tom offered a handshake greet to Ronald.

"Don't think so, nice to meet you too." He replied gratefully. Enrique just gave a smile to him, but focused more on what Jack was about to say.

"I'm heading up to Aypyidaw with Ronald to meet with the council if they're not busy. I've also got bad news." Jack announced.

"We're going to Aypyidaw too actually." Enrique replied. "Why do we need to go again?" He looked back at Rosalina. "And what's the bad news?" Jack waited for Rosalina to speak first.

"We too have to speak with the Martyrs to see if they can help stop a massive problem arising in The Spire." She shied out afterwards, typically common for her to do.

"Well, I've been banned from the Mushroom Kingdom, so now I'm unable to go to two districts now, Wuhu being the first. This means I won't be able to spectate your big race happening in a few days... and perhaps many other races to come." Tom felt disheartened, as did Enrique and Jack.

"That's a real shame, but we have more important things to address at the moment, maybe you could help us sort the problem out." He suggested to the two.

"Well we were going to ask for help from the Martyrs, but Ronald over here thinks he might be able to deal with the problem, I think we all know how serious of a matter this is." Jack looked back to Ronald, who showed a wrench to the others, giving a sign that he thinks he knows what he is doing.

"Good! Good." Tom said as the train approached.

"All get on the front carriage, it's the most likely to be empty." Rosalina led the other four quickly to the front where they boarded the train. It had come from Noki Port, and had only just started its journey so there were few people on to start with. Nobody was seen through the windows of the front carriage, so they all boarded on quickly. As they all got inside, Ronald stayed at the back and closed the door and locked it with a wrench and padlock.

"Lock up?" Jack asked Ronald as he lastly sat down next to the rest.

"Yup."

"Lock up?" Tom asked. Jack pointed to the back of the carriage where the padlock was placed.

"Nobody's gonna annoy us on this carriage." Enrique peeked over to see the padlock and praised Ronald.

 _This is the Platform 8 service to, Aypyidaw via Allam Junction. Calling at: Munhraw, Uldersal, Allam Junction, North Downs, Donk City, and Aypyidaw. Change at Allam Junction for trains to: Symaer and the Wuhu Kingdom._ The speakers of the train sounded.

As soon as the train departed from the station at high speed, the track followed northwards with two different farmlands on each side. The entire area seemed very unfamiliar to Enrique and Tom as Seven Farms was never a name they had remembered.

"So..." Tom said awkwardly. "What were you doing here then?" He asked Jack.

"Well." He began to lecture. "It all started shortly after that whole bazooka incident in Peach's Castle. I was there with Enrique and many others there." Jack began to picture the story to everybody on the train listening in...

Princess Peach had ordered everybody to get out of the castle by ringing an alarm and setting off all the Toad Brigade already inside the castle to come and capture anybody she despised. Thankfully she was not after me and Enrique but I think the Brigade chased after our boys George and Toby, I've had no contact with them since and no idea where they might be at. You see we have a kind of house in a town in North Delfino Kingdom called Sarlan, a couple tens of kilometres west of Blockfort. It's not on this route but we're going towards it. Anyway, after everybody had been chased off I stayed on the top floor with Enrique and Peach. Shortly after, the Mario brothers and Daisy had arrived and noticed the scene of the incident, when she told me and them to stay outside while she spoke to Enrique about something; I told them that it was done by the well-known Koopak Asquia II. Mario didn't believe me at first and then they questioned whether it was done by us humans.

"We don't want you scoundrels messing around in such desperate times!" Daisy yelled at me, I was unsure how to reply to it.

"This had nothing to do with anybody who was up there but Peach, Koopak tried to kill her and Bowser at the same time." I said back to them, none of it seemed convincing to them. For the meantime I was issued a ban in the Mushroom Kingdom and they probably did the same for George and Toby, wherever they are...

I ended up leaving Mushroom City later that night and escorted out of the land to here, the closest large city from the Mushroom Kingdom. I stayed around here for a few days trying to get my act together and see if I could redeem my Free Passage even though I was banned from the Wuhu Kingdom. Ronald came over a couple days back and now we're on our way back to the Red Martyrs.

"Why are you banned from Wuhu?" Rosalina asked him after he finished the lecture.

"They thought I conspired with the terrorism acts there so I'm not allowed in that Kingdom anymore." He replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"But wasn't it you and some other person who captured Jagem Lakitu and dumped him outside Wuhu Island just before the acts?" Tom questioned, remembering that he witnessed the drop from the helicopter. "He was heavily influenced by the attacks."

"Anyway." Jack ignored. "The point is... word is being spread about this huge threat coming from the north and people are saying that the humans should unite and become the rulers of the land, all four districts to minimise the amount of violence that's now occurring everywhere." Jack got out his phone and showed everybody a newspaper article saved on his phone.

"43 dead and several others injured in a set of mass bomb explosions in Vurduresa." Enrique read.

"And we're not talking about bob-omb explosions, actual bombs, dangerous ones." Jack concluded. "That was this morning. Another act of the Hostiles."

 _The next Station is: Munhraw_

Jack got out a train map of Résethal and placed it flat out on the table in front of him. "They have stopped all trains going to or via Vurduresa now, which also means no trains to Takhar, Karbût, Stromji, Amurun, and Erbec Fields." He pointed. "This pretty much means no access to any town in Vurduresa by train, that's if you want to go to The Powerhouse or just to inspect the towns you will have to either drive or go by foot. We have to inform the Red Martyrs about this if they have not heard so already."

"So that's why you're coming to Aypyidaw to see them." Rosalina mentioned.

"Exactly."

 _ABOUT AN HOUR LATER..._

 _The next station is: Aypyidaw, via Résethal Tunnel C._

 _This train terminates at the next stop. For any additional information about journeys onward, please check the assistance found at the next station._

The five eventually arrived at the station, with their carriage doors still sealed so that nobody ever approached the door and tried to enter while they were conspiring. Ronald disassembled his padlock and put all the items back in to his pocket, and then he opened up the door as the train stopped.

"To the council now everybody." Jack escorted everybody discretely off of the train and quickly out of the platform area. Half of those wandering around the station were Résethal citizens and others were guarding council members. Following the same footsteps as Rosalina once did, the five rushed quickly in to the main area of the town and headed straight into the council building and in to the great hall. Only Archbarn was there, inspecting maps laid out on the giant table in the centre.

"My friends." He turned around and noticed. "Have you heard the dear news of Vurduresa?" The five quickly seated themselves around the table.

"Yes we have." Jack replied immediately. "Ronald and I came here to address it, if nobody has done so already."

"We lost a fellow fighter this morning as well; Ledro has led an expedition with a few other men to the relatively safe north-western towns to deal out any Hostiles that may have been responsible. Eoréc on the other hand has gone to Vurduresa with others to give aid to those involved in the tragic accident that just happened recently." Archbarn lectured. The map was a huge scale copy of Résethal, detailed with towns, train tracks, race tracks and other important locations.

"Where's Muji." Tom asked, hoping he would find him.

"He's in his quarters, I can get him down here soon if you want, and why did you ask anyway?" Archbarn replied suspiciously, getting an unconvincing face from Enrique thinking something odd would be happening.

"We have another problem." Rosalina added. "There might be a shutout in one of the power cables in the Powerhouse connected to the Spire, more importantly it's the one that connects to the grid of power for the northern towns of Castelia, that includes Dargo, Konhip etcetera." Archbarn gasped, the other were unsure if it was in a good way or a bad way.

"Well, that should be a good thing, am I right? If they have no power they will not be able to build their weapons or whatever it is they are hiding there. It sounds like a great time to start a siege." He responded brightly.

"It's a bad thing!" Rosalina yelled. "Castelia is affected too! There'll be riots, proper ones this time! There'll be more violence than before as well."

"Sounds like a bad idea if you ask me." Enrique agreed. "We need your help to try and amend it, and I refer to all of you guys here."

"Yeah I don't think I can sort the problem out with the tools I have." Ronald added. "The wires and cables of the Powerhouse and Spire are well beyond my complexion."

"Then we must go there quickly, and solve it hopefully before the races begin. Sadly there are no trains servicing beyond Vurduresa, meaning there's probably an effect on that power cable as well." Archbarn stood up eventually. "I shall get Muji, and-."

"But I'm already here." Muji's voice came from the front doors of the great hall and out of the shadows of the room he appeared. "I've heard it all, both things: the attack in Vurduresa and the shutout for Castelia's power. We must go immediately to the Powerhouse; in a couple days maybe we will reunite with Ledro and Eoréc about their missions." Muji lastly looked over to Rosalina. "When's the last time you spoke to Pauline?"

"It was when we all met yesterday to decide the races and all. I'm surprised there are no advertisements about the races here." Rosalina replied shyly. "She's most likely in Mushroom City celebrating with the Mario Brothers and the Princesses about the upcoming races knowing her."

"I'm sure if she knew about the problems we're currently facing she would come straight up here and help out. You should really be practicing with her for the races if you want to win Rosalina; we're counting on you here." She looked flattered and turned red. Tom and Enrique felt offended about their lack of mention.

"But what about us?" Tom asked interrogatingly.

"You two don't need training; you know how you'll do anyway." Muji joked around, making the rest of the group laugh.

"Ha-ha, but he's right you know, Rosalina. I think you should leave this place and go straight down south to meet with Pauline again; you need to know how to synergise with each other and all of that jazz." Enrique suggested. He grabbed out a suspicious-looking item from his pocket. It looked like some special pile of luminous block. "I kind of... stole this a couple days back, use it to fly quickly back down south."

"Star bits? It's not how they work." Rosalina complained back at him, making Jack and Tom burst in to laughter.

"Oh well, do your flying thing and go back and train, you have the potential to win this and beat Bowser." Enrique said once again.

"Beating Bowser..." She said slowly. "Is it really the best thing to do?"

"Come on." Tom got up and quickly grabbed Rosalina to escort her out of the room. "Time for you to practice!" He led her out of the great hall and around a corner where the two could not be heard. "Just practice on your own, you don't need her. Besides, she's not going to get in the way of your skill." He whispered.

"I'm capable of racing anyway now." She replied shortly before being shoved out of the building. Tom quickly closed up the doors behind her and ran back to the great hall. Rosalina sighed before departing Aypyidaw yet again...

 **EOC: I would say this chapter is bulky despite being the least Canon-oriented. Either way, tension is rising in all parts of the world and important events are going to occur real soon.**

 **Any queries, write a review or DM, check my profile description for any information / lore as well related to the whole set of fanfics.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	9. Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 9 – Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa

 **A/N: Chapter 7 has a list of all of the contenders and their selected karts, if you do not remember you can have a look there.**

 **January 11, 2015 (1) – 5:30PM**

 **Koopa Cape, East Résethal**

Violence.

Several miles away from the disaster that struck Vurduresa, Koopa Cape still seemed rather pristine. Having the two notorious Koopa brothers return there, it all seemed very spotless and natural since its last use in 2011. Paratroopa returned back, overlooking the pipe along the circuit, still flooded.

"You know, I'm not sure how they're going to change this place for the race." He said to Koopa Troopa, who was relaxing in the shade of a tree near the edge of the waterfall drop.

"They might leave it as it is, with the water in the pipe and the glider ramp before the runway." KT replied. "I would've thought they'd alter it by now if they were to change it." The two had been chilling around at Koopa Cape ever since they returned here last night after the event discussion in Toad Town. Tickets have already sold out for almost every race; Koopa Cape had been sold out since 3:00PM today.

"Ever since Bowser had been captured, this place is now owned by the two of us, and so is most of the coast's stretch. You can even see the Spire from here." Paratroopa glanced at the surroundings and the endless sea to the east. The only thing that was in the way of the view of the sea was the giant stumped cliff to his left being the Powerhouse Peninsula. Koopa Troopa got up from the flat grass next to the tree, seeming alert of something.

"Do you hear that sound?" He felt a sense of footsteps, lots of them, slowly approaching the two in their owned property. Paratroopa flew up above the rocks surrounding the circuit and noticed a group of unfamiliar Koopas. None of them seemed to be ex-members of Bowser's army. Paratroopa counted about eight Koopas, none of them armed or looking aggressive either. Koopa Troopa dashed around the grassy plain and ran upward to notice Paratroopa confront the gang of Koopas, who seemed to arrive from the woodland to the west.

"How can I help you Koopas?" Paratroopa asked as politely as possible, not used to seeing company at the cape before.

"We need your help." One of the Koopas wailed. "We have fled Vurduresa and seek refuge elsewhere." The Koopa was female, but it did not seem to convince Paratroopa their innocent looks.

"This place is not a town, there is no residence here." Paratroopa responded.

"We also, need food, resources..." Another, manlier Koopa demanded.

"Urscan is only five miles south of here." Paratroopa suggested. "Go there; there is lots of shelter there." He pointed southwards, shortly after Koopa Troopa arrived to the situation. The crowd diverted their attention towards him, gasping at knowing that the two were Bowser's favourites.

"You're Bowser's two best Koopas." One of them stated, turning more aggressive.

"Servants of Tyranny!" The female Koopa's attitude completely changed as she yelled at them.

"Of course you have resources here you liars!" The crowd turned angry, slowly approaching the two, who became surrounded on the edge of the cliff looking down on to the grassland part of the circuit.

"Leave us alone, Hostiles!" Koopa Troopa ordered the group to back off, but they refused.

"Be gone! Like the rest of Bowser's treacherous army!" A hostile Koopa charged at the two, attempting to push them off the cliff. Paratroopa grabbed Koopa Troopa's arms and carried him off of the edge and flew him back to the other side where the aggressive mob could not catch them.

"This place is ours now!" A Hostile from the crowd yelled.

"You can't take this place from us, it's in the races! It's been announced already! Race 5!" Paratroopa shouted from the other side, the crowd looked at him with anger.

"Then it's ours until otherwise!" The leading Hostile taunted back. The crowd then began to make their way back down to the circuit, where there was flat space and flowing water for them to rest by. The two Koopas hoped the Hostiles do not find their food storages and shelter, situated on the other side of the circuit, just inside the waterfall. Having only themselves to attempt to stop the angry mob of Koopas from taking their shelter, their only choice now was to go back to Bowser's Castle to see if he could help at all. The direction to Bowser's Castle goes right through Koopa Cape along the coastline.

 _MEANWHILE..._

All of the first races' tickets had been sold out by this point, seating 25,000 citizens in public booths and stands. Many other areas were organised to host public screenings of the races, it was said to become the most viewed tournament to date. Other people suggest it is also going to be the last tournament. Back at Mushroom City the level of violence had dropped back to their expected 'zero-crime' standards with the Toad Brigade now fully enforced into the giant city. Peach overlooked the skyline from her fixed top floor of the castle, with her head full of pride and power seeing the place look normal again. The revenue gained from all the tickets sold for the races amassed over a 15 thousand coins, the people were clearly hooked in to the excitement.

She looked down, creating an image in her head on what the race track was going to be like again. Knowing each race would be 5 laps, the duration of the race would also be around 5 minutes, though those five minutes would become the first most important period of the year. Feeling so confident in herself with her superbike, biker outfit and her synergy with Daisy, Peach stretched her arms with a big smile on her face before looking back to the few Toads in the room fixing the window.

"Keep that small table there." She ordered the Toad to her right to stop amending. The Toad left it upright and in the corner of the room next to the new windows. By Peach's order, the centre of the old window was replaced with a small balcony, so she could openly walk out and overlook the city from the edge of the castle. Peach clicked her fingers alerting all the workers inside the room to leave despite the room not yet fully refurbished. As the last Toad closed the door Peach opened up the door to the balcony and looked back to the table. In her usual royal mood, she moved over towards the table and dragged it across the floor to outside the balcony. Typically after she turned her head towards the cupboard on the other side of the room and walked over. She used to be a massive fan of tea, but due to the atmospheric changes in the world her resort to alcoholic beverages mixed with wealth resulted into her craving champagne. All of the Toad citizens believe that there is storage of the drink kept safe in the castle though the truth remains hidden from them. Only few humans know of her secret of alcohol consumption in the near dystopian world. She poured herself another glass and stood outside on the balcony looking around and drinking some. Shortly after, somebody who did know her secret appeared at the back of the room by the door without her noticing.

"Can never see you for 24 hours without that drink in your hands." The human who showed up called from the other side of the room, frightening Peach and making her turn round in shock. She could already sense the magic dwelling in the room as she didn't hear any door sound; it still looked very sealed like how the last Toad closed it.

"Can never see you staying in prison." Peach replied to the tall ghostly-looking human. It was Rosalina's brother; she knew somebody must have set him free after him being locked in what is considered the most locked up place in all of the underground. "There's no point trying to detain Earth humans anymore, they've always got some sort of way to get out."

"And those humans are not trying to do harm to you or anybody that follows you. I however, am not an Earth human." He approached Peach slowly. "I could overthrow your 'empire'."

"In your dreams, fool." She commented.

"Give me a colourless pipe and three Koopas and your land can be overthrown within hours." Zane said out of spite, blinding Peach's mind with confusion. "That's not why I am here, if I came to conquer you'd be worshipping me right here. I'm here for... allegiance." He quickly clicked his fingers in front of Peach's vision, snapping her out of a thought lapse. "What did I say?" Peach began to think that she was being hypnotised and began trying to resist.

"You won't hypnotise me." She hesitated, turning her head quickly as Zane stopped in front of her.

"I'm not doing anything." Zane slapped Peach's face softly. "I'm being serious; I've seen the other side of the mountains and beyond Castelia. The hostiles are dangerous and have planned an assault within the coming months." She regained her focus.

"Yes, Yes! We're already trying to do something about that! We don't need your stupid ideas or 'help' as you would commonly use. I'm not going to have a direct treaty with you just like that."

"But I'm in your castle, not harming you at all and you haven't set your guards on me, what's the problem? What I did in Wuhu had nothing to do with you directly."

"Let me just sort this out myself." Zane grabbed Peach's hand and slapped the hand he grabbed with his other hand vigorously. Within a split second the surroundings morphed completely out of shape and shaped up to form a field on the edges of what seemed like the southern coastline, with a clear, normal view of the southern seas. The castle or any part of Mushroom City was nowhere near in sight.

"Why have you taken me here?" Peach yelled, shocked at the teleportation.

"I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not the southern coastline. This is the northern coastline." Zane pointed upwards to the sun which was setting to the west. Soon after looking down again he dragged Peach by the arm and crept up the sloping hill to overlook a small town on the northern edge: Anamar.

From what Peach gathered, it looked like a normal village in Résethal, perhaps hostile-free. However, in Zane's eyes he already counted 10 confirmed hostiles walking around the town, including 3 heavily-armed Koopas. Zane nudged her, telling her to focus her eyes on them and their weapons.

"What do you see?" He whispered.

"Koopas, evil ones." She replied.

"I see Mushroom military weapons." He pointed towards the logo of the rifle in one of the Koopa's hands. "How do you think they got those weapons? Aren't they the weapons that your military use? You know, for outer space usage only? You never see a Toad citizen owning guns."

"We've never distributed guns to any Résethal citizens. Only to Toads that serve the Galaxy military." She replied.

"And where do the guns that belonged to retired soldiers go?" He asked about one group.

"They stay back in our safe hands."

"What about those soldiers who are killed in action?"

"We collect those weapons too."

"What about those soldiers who are... missing in action?"

"I don't know." She stumbled into thought. "But how would they take the guns back to Earth?"

"That's not the point. How do _they_ (pointing to the Koopas) get the guns?"

"I don't know, I can't think of any other way."

"Then the conclusion is there are people who sell the guns to the others." Zane confirmed. "We need to find that person, or those people who distribute these before attacking, that will stop the trade to them and their weapons, because once they plan their attack on the southern kingdoms, every soldier of theirs will be armed and trained and would kill any Mushroom, Wuhu, Delfino citizen in sight." He quickly warped Peach and himself back to her castle. "We can't afford this to happen. If it does, then the fates of most people you and I know are at risk."

"Most?"

Zane laughed. "Well, I won't be at risk, Marrec won't, the twins won't. Everyone else will be killed though."

"THEN WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO YOU SO MUCH?" She yelled across the room with anger, frightened at what she saw in the hostile village just seconds ago.

"It matters to the people." Zane stated.

"What are you asking for then? Me march my armies up north and wipe them out?" Peach froze shortly after saying those harsh words, changing her expression as if she had a bright idea in mind.

"That's possible." Zane agreed." Peach quickly removed that thought from her head, not bothering to march up north as it feels like she's not affected by the hostiles herself. Zane looked around the room to see if Peach was distracted by anything suspicious resulting in her period of silence.

"No!" She quickly yelled out again, speaking quickly before Zane could enquire. "I don't want your dark and daemonic ideas changing the course of this emp- government!" She grew furious.

"You don't care for the kingdom, only yourself!" Zane shouted back in anger, clearly not winning his suggestion. He sensed the sounds of marching footsteps of Toads rushing along the nearby corridors going towards the chamber.

He vanished.

After all the screaming stopped Peach noticed the arrival of many brave but also shocked Toads marching in the room. Her presumed panic seemed by the Toads had dropped to a silence.

"What's the matter?" The main Toad asked loudly, confused at looking around and seeing everything just as he expected.

"It was Zane; he escaped the prison and teleported here!"

...

"Zane's still in prison." One other Toad replied. "He can't escape the bottom cells of the highest prison.

"I want to see him then, escort me there now!" Peach yelled once again at the Toads who all looked clueless. She quickly stormed out of the room in a humph with all Toads abiding her and following straight after like slaves. All were silent as she left the room.

 _ABOUT AN HOUR LATER, AT THE BOTTOM DEPTHS OF THE MUSHROOM UNDERGROUND PRISONS..._

Peach swung the doors open to the main prison doors. The Koopa standing at the front desk immediately pointed towards his right, indicating the direction to Zane's direction as he was told in advance of Peach's arrival. Lead by several guards, Peach arrived towards the stone-brick square cell where Zane lay cuffed at the centre of the room, looking heavily knackered and tattered.

"He's been here the whole time, my princess." A Toad Guard to her left informed Peach. Who looked at Zane twitchingly, full of confusion.

"I swear he was in the castle earlier today, everyone out!" She ordered. "I need to speak with him alone."

"What?" Zane queried. "Why? What use am I to you?" He wondered, though knowing that he was present in Peach's castle only an hour ago. As soon as the Brigade within the prison disappeared from the cell and the surrounding walls, Peach approached the cuffed Zane, still looking down on the ground keeping his face away from her. As she reached in front of him, he could spot her shoes from his vision, and looked up with an evil grin.

"Magic always prevails." Zane spoke to Peach, following up a smirk.

"Stop playing these childish games with me fool, I was right about you being in the castle, and your sorcery is ensorcelling." She confronted him with aggression.

"Are you representing your kingdom right now with those big words?"

"Dangerously." She pulled a heavy expression down on the cuffed captive. "Take me back to the north."

"Take you where? I don't know what you're talking about." Zane joked around with Peach. "All I know is that someone in your government deals with weapons and distributes them to the north. Guns are not for this world."

"Those hostiles had guns, but how? I can't think of anyone who would distribute them." She worried, sitting down next to Zane, who continued to stare at the floor. Zane smirked again.

"It's your doing, don't deny it, nobody else can. It would have to be a human so it narrows it down immensely anyway, it just explains why you have so much money. Now the hostiles are going to use it against you."

"What do you suggest in order to stop them then?" She leaned her head over towards Zane, staring up at his face, still focused on the floor.

"I say you join up with Bowser to stop them, your armies combined can defeat the forces of the north, if they haven't abandoned their guard and become radicalised to the north – which you may have done to like half of Bowser's army and a quarter of yours. Some people in your lands have considered having a human democracy, including all of the 'good' humans, especially the Earth ones."

"What do you mean democracy?" Peach wondered. "The political sense?"

"Yes, neutral people who can lead the world in to unity." She gasped. "I know it sounds ridiculous right?" She nodded. "Well there doesn't seem a better option; people are getting sick of you." Peach stared up in thought.

"This is all happening so inconveniently, right up to the start of the races. The Red Martyrs must do what they can to make sure they still go on, doing whatever it takes to stop hostile activity."

"Lock the door." Zane ordered. Peach, who seemed much more lenient about things, seemed confused instead of aggressive or wrathful. She turned her head back at the door of the prison, staring in thought of the future.

She closed the door, and sealed it up with the lock and key given to her by the Guards.

"I trust you here, knowing for sure you can escape." The two humans quickly warped out of the prison, distorting their surroundings mixed with the look of a void, eventually appearing back on land, though this place did not look like the north at all. Peach noticed a familiarity that she had ended up back in Bowser's Castle. She grew mad with rage and attacked Zane, who held her back and hushed her down. "Trust me here." He said softly, looking up at the corridor that they ported in to. Bowser's throne was not far from here. After quieting down the raging princess, he began to hear voices coming from the room on the other side of the right wall.

"And they ransacked us out of our home, now we have nowhere to stay but here." A familiar Koopa voice complained pessimistically.

"We need your help, you're all we have." Another Koopa begged.

"Help? I'm afraid I can't provide any help at the moment except the shelter part. I have no freedom anywhere outside the castle." Bowser's voice argued back.

"Mmmmmmm-mmm Bwzr..." Peach muffled having her mouth blocked by Zane's palm. He simply nodded back down at Peach.

"You can stay here." Bowser said back to the Koopas. "But I can't provide any food or drink, I only have enough limited for myself and my kids, and since they took their rations when they voyaged southwest, there's only enough food here for myself. You'll have to ask the Fisherman if he has any spare for you guys."

"The Fisherman?" Zane wondered quietly next to Peach, who soon removed his palm from Peach's mouth, allowing her to speak.

"Why are we here? And I have no idea who the Fisherman is."

"We will go down to find him, thank you Lord Bowser." One Koopa praised, all Zane could here after that was a sigh from the Lord. He quickly hoisted Peach up and took her round the corridor towards Bowser where they saw the two Koopas leaving through the same hallway. They were startled, just as extremely as Bowser, who almost fell off his throne. R.O.B was also in the room serving him, but he hadn't uttered a word since the two arrived from the warp.

"What are you two doing here?" Paratroopa, one of the two Koopas, with Koopa Troopa being the other questioned loudly.

"Ignore them." Bowser said back to Zane. "Now go to the Fisherman, or no shelter!" Bowser commanded the Koopas as they ran off in a fright.

" _The Rhonaward is approaching, Master."_ R.O.B informed Bowser uselessly, as he had already noticed them.

"A traitor and an arch-enemy, appearing out of nowhere in my castle. Why shouldn't I slaughter you two right now? Nobody else is going to see it." Bowser got out of his chair and stood cross-armed.

"The overhyped tournament happening in a few days?" Zane answered immediately.

"That would make me not want to kill Peach, I could still kill you and both of us would be okay with it. Besides, it was you who caused this in the first place, Rhonaward." He glared directly into Zane's eyes fiercely, though Zane seemed untouched and unfazed by the Lord's look. Peach also stared directly at him, surprised about what Bowser said about the Wuhu events.

"This was the sole purpose of bringing you together." He said to both Peach and Bowser. "Your armies are weak now that one has trumped another, but there is a more serious threat arising from the north, and we all know who's responsible for that." Zane stared back at Peach, who sweated in anxiety as she looked back at Bowser. "You both need to protect yourselves in these upcoming events, for one of you to fall would result in complete anarchy and disaster for almost everyone else on the island. When the races end you must defend against the coming armies of the north and stop them together, provided that Bowser wins and gets his near-freedom at least." Both Peach and Bowser seemed confused, but also attentive and obedient. "After all, it's better if you two were only opposing forces than to have a completely free massacre affecting everyone badly."

"We don't know what we're dealing with here." Bowser questioned. "They have no leader."

"That's the problem." Zane replied. "It will be difficult to find the source of their armies and their violence. That is why you must pair together."

Bowser shook his head several times, snapping out of a supposed trance.

"WHILE I'M UNDER TRIAL? GET OUT OF HERE! TWISTING MY MIND YOU ARE!" He quickly changed his attitude and roared fire out throughout the room. "I'm not abiding to a mere witch!" Bowser chased Zane and Peach, breathing more fire. He thought he had roasted the two after ceasing his flames, but the two's bodies had disappeared quickly, escaping the fire.

The two had returned to the prison, Zane sat down on to the floor in his chains, and Peach stood a couple metres from him.

"You make no sense to anyone, stay here and stay out of everyone's way. You make life worse for everyone." Peach unlocked the door and escaped quickly, leaving a sudden sense of depression into the cell. Zane lied down and sobbed, looking at the floor again. He seemed that he cannot change the fate of anyone for what he sees in the future is looking all negative. All he pictured in his mind was a great war happening in the future, causing a mass decline in the world's population. More deaths than any war in the past ever. For one who has lived long enough to see generations of people pass away beneath him, he knew this would be the worst sight to see so far, to begin with a racing tournament as well weirdly enough.

He knew damn as a matter of fact that the peril he caused in Wuhu seemed like it caused the separation of the people in the land, though Zane thought he could evade being the one to blame for the downfall of each empire by emphasising the ignorance of Peach and the sympathy of Bowser, two things that are on the wrong people. Sadly Peach clearly had the more dominant side of ownership, pretty much owning three of the four quarters of the island and Bowser owning none. She had isolated Bowser within the cold steel walls of his castle and all those who used to serve him have turned neutral, and neutral for a citizen is the easiest place to be radicalised to become an enemy of both Peach and Bowser, to learn the acts of violence to inflict on the innocent citizens. As for those who serve the princess, some will not see the true purpose in serving their ruler, loyalty and honour. As the southern lands become more free and 'safe', people would be easily distracted by the hostile antics and not be stopped by their faith in the princess. Signs of a Great War approaching are becoming more and more obvious.

 **January 13, 2015 (1) – 6:30PM**

 **Tigell, Northeast Résethal**

The last town in the northeastern woodlands of Résethal seemed clear of any hostiles, lying a couple miles from the Powerhouse border, all surroundings seemed completely empty of activity. The humans were planning on making their journey back to Aypyidaw just after they find the connections back to the Powerhouse; the power seemed to be running perfectly to all of the towns they had inspected, despite the incident happening in Vurduresa, which Eoréc and his men should have sorted out by now.

The four had approached the gate out of Résethal, and in to the near-empty plane that was the Powerhouse Peninsula, unguarded and lifeless. Their trek in searching for endangered civilians and damaged houses to repair was over as they had arrived here. It was almost time to relax.

"Now what's this thing about a broken cable or whatever to do with Castelia?" Jack asked Tom and Enrique as they passed the gate. The surrounding grass appeared much lighter as the sun always shone over it.

"Rosalina said that there might've been a power cable cutting off the power to that region, but on all the cities we have gone by none of their power got affected by any explosions gone off." Enrique replied monotonously, his work further south had been full of effort and exhaustion due to there being more attacks than he thought. Vurduresa was not the only place attacked by hostiles on that day, but several other small outlying towns were hit too, resulting in several casualties.

"We just need to check the Powerhouse and Spire if there's any trip on the other end... or anything that may spark a trip in the cables." Tom noted as the travellers approached the smaller building of the island.

"Are the twins at home?" Ronald asked the others.

"Of course not." Enrique replied. "They're never at home, and besides, this isn't their 'home'." He went inside first, looking around at the ever-familiar chromic walls and the vibrant colours. Enrique claimed to know the two well, since he has met them in the past and not only in Muhu Delfethal but on Earth too. Tom knew the two as well, probably even more than Enrique does.

"They're probably asleep on Earth, missing out all of the events happening here right now." Enrique said again, searching around the place for any wires that might be out of place. The other three waited uselessly at the entrance of the building, with nearly no idea where to check for any power as the complexion of the Powerhouse was well above their heads. Jack and Ronald seemed rather confused after hearing Enrique's speech on the twins, looking at Tom to see if he had any idea.

"It's New Years Day on Earth, so they might be awake." Tom called to Enrique who had already strolled off into the other parts of the building. Ronald was still confused, mainly as he has never been to Earth properly; he is a human descendent from the first people of the land.

"Well whatever that means, the two brothers are still not around. My guess is that they are on the island, but definitely in hiding. They can't afford to miss out on the races." Ronald charged ahead from the rest, searching around for any cables that might be at risk of breaking.

Shortly after inspecting all areas of the Powerhouse, the four would soon have to have a look around the Spire, the second, much larger building on the Powerhouse Peninsula. It spanned over a hundred metres in height but looked far less futuristic on the outside. The inside was immense however, several cylindrical beams of plasma stretched out from the top directly into the ground. They presumed it would be where all the power was generated from; underground. All the power would then be distributed in protected insulated cables scattered all along the walls of the building, to then too go underground protected by the earth leading straight back to the operating centre of the Powerhouse. None of them knew how it worked, as it was unused for many years only the twins were the people who claimed to understand its impeccable operating power. Nobody in the lands knew how they came about knowing it either. With all its delicacy, any sudden trip in the mains or a successful attempt to destroy either the Powerhouse or the Spire would lead to a mass power cut in the whole land, causing immediate disaster. Thankfully nobody is stupid enough to attempt this.

After a few hours of searching, night had arrived and there were no wires or cables susceptible to short-circuiting. The problem Rosalina had mentioned may have just been a foolish lie and a waste of everyone's time. They all sat down on the grass plain outside the Powerhouse after they had confirmed they had searched everywhere on the peninsula, including the soils of the grass leading from one building to another.

"What a waste of time." Ronald mentioned. "All of this for nothing, that girl's gonna pay for wasting our time one day or another."

"She can pay us by winning those races." Jack said back to him as he stared up at the moon in the night sky.

"Shame there's no beds around here to sleep." Tom stated joyfully. "I'm kind of getting used to this place."

"All you've been doing is walking around looking at wires all evening. There are clearly better things to do than that, such as getting ready for your races which start in two days time!" Jack growled at the other two, who giggled at each other.

"I'm sure that's not a big problem to us." Enrique chuckled. "Besides, Mushroom City is the first race, anything can happen in that."

"Like coming last." Ronald assumed. "It's a shame we're not going to be there to watch, thanks to Jack being banned there, we couldn't get tickets to see the race." He sighed.

"Not to worry." Tom cheered brightly. "I'm pretty sure Enrique and I can sneak you two in to the race, Jack and I go back a long time so it should be ok for both of you two. Are you banned in the Mushroom Kingdom?" He stared back at Ronald, who tried to recall.

"I might be." He replied, but before he could say anything else Tom interrupted quickly.

"Nothing to fear then, even if you are, you're sticking with us!" He smiled. "Now let's wait for another night to go by, we will practice tomorrow." He looked back at Enrique, who had already dosed off in the moonlight. There was no strong breeze on the Peninsula tonight, so it seems like they would all get a good night's sleep...

 **4:30AM...**

Tom's eyes slowly opened, beginning to hear footsteps coming from the gate to the Peninsula. Although he was still half-asleep, he could sense an approach of several Koopas coming his way in the distance. As his eyes began to widen Tom actually noticed all of the Koopas were wielding weapons, dangerous ones. He counted about six Koopas so they were outnumbered, and these Koopas did not look like any that would serve Bowser. His eyes were fully open now, and he shot up being wary of what's yet to come. He kicked Jack, who was sleeping outside next to him, nudging him to wake up as well.

"Guys get up!" Tom called out to the three loudly enough to get to their ears but quietly enough so that the approaching Koopas could not hear him. They nudged around and slowly got up, unbalanced and with eyes still closed.

"Seize them!" The main Koopa called out, forming a defensive line with the others and arming their weapons up, pointing at the four humans. By this time Enrique and Ronald were alert and stood firmly still. "Stop moving you humans!" The main one ordered again.

"Red Martyr scum!"

"Princess Protectors, don't belong up north!"

They all called out their insults and taunts, but Tom slowly crept towards the middle of the bunch and kept his hands up in the air.

"Koopas, we aren't princess protectors, nor Red Martyr 'scum', and besides, what brings you six fighters out to the Peninsula? You don't want to be messing around with any of its contraptions do you?" He negotiated, trying to spot a fault in their plans.

"Yeah and what are you guys doing here then? Who sent you? _Besides,_ __we saw you humans in Vurduresa trying to help save those foolish citizens! Somebody must have sent you to do that, either the Princess or the Council! Ready up your weapons boys!" Five of the six Koopas armed their weapons to shoot at the humans whenever called on. Tom looked at the sixth and noticed he seemed unsure. That Koopa had his eyes focused on Enrique, with his gun laid down. Ronald was slowly creeping towards the main entrance to the Powerhouse to try and escape, he couldn't lay any big step to creep behind though, and it was not worth the risk.

"I don't care if you're a government scum or a Martyr scum, you humans don't deserve to be up here." The head Koopa laughed as he was ready to fire.

"Wait!" The unsure Koopa called out, stopping the others from aiming to fire. "These humans, they're not Martyr scum, nor government scum."

"And how do you know that?" The head Koopa turned his head to the unsure one.

"Yeah." The Koopa on the far right also questioned.

"I know that one." The unsure Koopa pointed his finger towards Enrique. "Far right. From years back, now come to think of it, you as well." He then pointed his finger to Tom, whose eyes widened as much as Enrique's just did.

"Well, who are they?" The head Koopa yelled at the unsure one.

"They're no ordinary humans; they're Tom and Enrique, part of that grand tournament! We can't afford to kill those two." The group of Koopas lowered down their weapons.

"And the other two?" The far right Koopa questioned.

"We're banned in the Mushroom Kingdom, so there's no relation there to us." Jack informed. "I'm Jack and this is Ronald. We're neutrals."

"More neutrals?" The far left Koopa wondered sarcastically.

"Yes, we are, we have no business with the south. Now tell us, why are you six up here?" Tom redirected the attention to himself.

"To see if the twins were home." One replied immediately.

"They're never home." Enrique replied. "You should know this."

"We tracked you four on your way here and knew you were going to the Powerhouse." The unsure Koopa revealed the truth, making the other five stare back at him angrily. "Best idea was to attack at sunrise. But now I know who you guys are, it's not worth the effort to get you guys in danger." The Humans and Koopas both calmed down now. "But why were you four here?"

"We were checking if there were any power cables that might've been loose, rumours said that there would be one that could cause a mass power cut for all the towns in Castelia, but it was a lie all along." Ronald showed the group his wrench, as some sort of evidence to prove that they were there for that reason. They seemed convinced, nodding and agreeing in unison.

"Well I guess we better go back to our homes, you stay here however, you don't want other people attacking you from out of nowhere, not thinking that you're neutral." The unsure Koopa warned as the rest turned back and headed home. The four humans stood and watched them as they trekked out of the Peninsula and back into the woods that they came from.

"Hostiles." Jack mentioned. "As soon as I saw their weapons." Ronald agreed with him.

"That was Illias right? The unsure one." Tom wondered to Enrique.

"I think so; it would be odd for anyone else to be so nice to us..."

The sun began to rise fully in the sky after a while and the four humans had no idea how to get back down south. Now without any weapons or defence, their deeds in the Peninsula were finished and now they had no other choice but to return south. Résethal appears too dangerous for even Enrique's liking. Tom thought that if they traced along the coastline they would eventually meet up at Koopa Cape and perhaps see Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, then hoping to get back into the Mushroom Kingdom through the edge of the mountain range via Bowser's Castle. Whether they would bump in to Bowser or not would not matter, Tom's top priority now was to go back to Mushroom City to find his kart and train for the races.

One whole day left...

As the four ventured down the coastline opposite the Peninsula, Koopa Cape was appearing in the distance, though with several lit campfires and tents down by the racetrack, the two main Koopas did not seem to be around. They all noticed as they approached forward that Koopa Cape had been heavily controlled by hostiles, far more than there were before when they appeared the first time. Jack looked ahead and counted at least 20 within the areas he could see from atop the cliffs.

"Guys." Jack began. "This doesn't look safe, aggressive Koopas everywhere, even some Toads." He pointed down towards the running river towards two Koopas conspiring with a Toad, who looked armed to the teeth.

The weather did not seem right either, for once at this time of the year there was heavy cloud, natural cloud too. As the four stopped to hide behind rocks, trying not to be seen, Ronald began to feel a slight bit of raindrops, gradually increasing in quantity. Thunder shortly approached and then the rest of the rain began to bucket down. The Hostiles put out their campfires and moved towards their tents which were based under the shelter near the beginning of the race track, all of the grassland surrounding the track looked abandoned. More campfires were lit up underneath the shelter however, and many Koopas stood against the wet patches of the rain on guard.

"Come on now, let's move." The four humans slid down the cliffs towards the river-running zone, where they hid underneath a thick tree to try and not get wet.

"These guys will have to clear off soon." Ronald stated. "Koopa Cape is the 5th race, and that will start on the 23rd, they have 9 days at most to clear off."

"The more important question is." Tom agreed and carried on. "Where are Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, I have a feeling this is one of their preferred races."

"What are your preferred races?" Ronald asked both Tom and Enrique. Enrique hesitated and looked at Tom, to see if it was worth revealing their races. Tom shook his face back at Enrique.

"We'll tell you when it gets picked." Enrique replied informatively, mainly focusing on what the Koopa and Toad Hostiles were doing further down the track.

"Let's go along the track and look for any other clues, the cliff before the pipe drop will be a good place to spy from." Tom suggested, slowly getting damper from the water dripping from the thick-leaved tree. It was raining heavily, and on the inside nobody really wanted to get out of the tree as they feared they would get drenched. Enrique sprinted out of the tree leaves quickly towards another.

"Argh it's dreadful!" He yelled from across the river, knowing for sure that summer clothes were inadequate at the moment. He already looked soaked as the others watched him run from tree to tree and then after a while ignoring all trees and running straight to the cliff. Jack soon sprinted next, ignoring every tree in the green, with Ronald and Tom soon rushing on afterwards. All four of them approached the cliff drained and drenched. As they looked down from the top of the cliff, the pipe appeared to rise in water quickly. As for the Hostiles, they could only catch a glimpse of a few orange flares of campfires and a couple of people looking around on guard.

"Guys, get back!" Jack yelled to the other three as he noticed a change in expression of a Hostile Toad Guard, getting out his weapon and beginning to fire, spreading bullets across the top of the cliff but missing all four humans. All hid against the rocks to their left, avoiding the Guard's vision. Ronald appeared frightened, much more than anyone else afraid of gunfire.

"Those are real guns." He shivered as he spoke. "How did they get those? If they're going to attack we are screwed!" He sobbed to the floor. "We gotta get out of here!" Ronald over-panicked but was silenced by Jack, quieting him down.

"Don't worry Ronald, we won't be affected. Let's just get out of here quick." Jack held his arm and ran off from the cliff, back along the river, finding a slope to get out of the Cape. Tom and Enrique looked at eachother and knew what to do; follow on immediately. Through the rain they dashed, heading further south towards the city of Urscan, rather unaffected by any Hostile activity.

Ronald had never seen proper guns before as someone who lived in the Delfino Kingdom for his entire life. Guns were an Earth thing to him, and he only knew that they were very easy to kill people with. Throughout his life he has rarely seen people die, mostly relatives through old age, and old age in this land is a _very_ long time. Even though all of the humans were shocked to see armed Koopas and Toads with guns, Ronald seemed scarred from the risk of death. As the four approached Urscan, they tried to find the nearest building with shelter; it had not rained like this before in January for several years. Aside thunder, they gathered that a storm decided to hit the northern lands appropriately before the races begin. Tom only begged that it didn't rain down south too, potentially spoiling the track if it continued on tomorrow. Due to the rain, Urscan looked abandoned as nobody was outside. The four rushed into the nearest big building which happened to be the main pub in Urscan. It was packed.

The four soaked off and noticed several tens of Koopas and Goombas, mostly ex-servants of Bowser himself. They all turned immediately to see the humans arrive into the pub, though none seemed aggressive. It was still silent, with all the people inside staring at them. Each had nothing to say as they were scared of what could happen if they did speak. Even the bartender was focusing his eyes on the humans.

"Four humans?" One Goomba eventually questioned. No other voices were heard. Tom slowly began to move from being frozen by the look of the dense crowd.

"Yes..." He slowly replied and just as that happened most of the citizens inside ignored them and resumed back to what they were doing before, the ambient level of sound went back up again.

"Normally this place would be empty at this time of day." One Koopa stated near the others. "But because of such a storm that we're seeing outside everyone's coming in here." The humans faced towards the Koopa paying attention. Ronald peeked through the nearest window and saw nobody outside, nodding in agreement.

"I don't know if you've heard the agenda recently, but people from all other small towns come to Urscan to meet up because it is safe and return to their homes only at night. There are no evildoers here." The Koopa continued. "We all used to serve in Bowser's army but now we are able to live free lives here, but it hasn't been as safe as before; the evil ones come over from the north and occasionally raid homes, they take the children and convert them, they hurt our wives and make them serve them. We do not simply have any power to fight them as they have those 'weapons'." They all felt bad for the Koopas and Goombas in the pub, unable to fight back and fight for their family because of Hostiles possessing guns which can easily win a battle between one Koopa and another. The four only began to question now how these Hostiles may have got those weapons. Unfortunately, there was not enough time for Tom – who considered it the most – to go out and investigate, for the races would commence tomorrow evening. Mushroom city is always based in the evening after sunset he thought.

He and Enrique have 36 hours...

 **EOC: I'm still getting lots of DMs on this so I will try and update the lorebook with some enquiries people have asked about. One of the main questions was how many humans actually inhabit the land? The rough answer would be about 50 (8 or so families) these are mostly the families of that of Ronald, Ledro to name a few, the Canon human inhabitants, and the humans that had arrived from Earth (Tom, Enrique, George etc).**

 **Another main enquiry was about the map of the land, I am ever expanding on this adding canon and non-canon areas within the four main districts and outlying islands (non-canon is 99% towns such as Frinméy).**

 **A/N: The end of the next chapter will be the start of the first race.**

 **See you soon.**


	10. Preparation

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 10 – Preparation

 **A/N: Chapter 7 has a list of all of the contenders and their selected karts, if you do not remember you can have a look there. After this we will actually have races, so stay tuned!**

 **January 14, 2015 (1) – 10:00AM**

 **Bowser's Castle, The Mountain Range**

King.

He slouched in his throne seat yet again, with nobody to talk to. All of his Koopalings were still somewhere in Wuhu and his most trusted Koopas were sent off to the shores. Even R.O.B was not to be seen. After a while of being stuck in deep thought however, his trusted robot advisor eventually returned to the throne room, bearing news.

" _Lord Bowser, there is an ex-Emissary of the Beanbean Kingdom at the front gate, shall we let him in?"_ R.O.B immediately informed Bowser, enlightening him.

"Yes! Send him here now if he wishes to speak with me." Bowser was delighted; somebody new had arrived at his castle for once, instead of those pesky humans he keeps seeing nowadays. He caught a glimpse of a twisted-looking face with spiral-lensed glasses approaching the throne room quickly. It was one of Bowser's most trusted and well-known allies: Fawful of the Beanbean Kingdom.

"Well hasn't it been a while." Bowser stated as he approached in front of the throne.

"A dire time has passed indeed; I assume things are not going very well for you, for the races are only tomorrow. The whole world knows about it now, all of the first eight races are sold out. Lucky for us rebels we have a chance to watch it live streamed from our caves beneath the kingdom, for it is the only place most of us can go without being taken down by the Patrol." Bowser gave his respect to Fawful and his remaining followers. Ever since the events on Wuhu the Patrol has tried to look for any high-ranking followers of Bowser to purge them from the lands.

"It was good to see that you made it here alive... and unscathed too." He thanked. "I hope for a miracle to happen soon for all those who had supported me there always. You shouldn't deserve to have to live under the rule of a girl like her, or be slaughtered for rebelling. I can't remember the entire list of the rules that everyone has to undergo in the kingdoms now, but nobody who supports me loyally likes them. Alas I have not had any availability to practice, though I did send Junior and the rest out to Wuhu, do you know how they are doing?"

Fawful seemed too unsure and far too quiet compared to his normal self. "I have not seen them around in Wuhu, they might be back at the Island, and our caves are nowhere near that Island."

"Don't worry then." Bowser stated. "If something happened to them all I would have known by now. It was the only way to give them a true adventure outside the castle than to have them stay here and do nothing." Bowser could not quite remember why he sent his kids there, he began afraid that he would start losing his mind whilst undergoing the experience of Death Row. "How did you get here?" He asked Fawful. "1 mile outside the walls of the castle and you'll be shot down by any of Brigade snipers."

"You know how I get around things." He winked back at Bowser. "I heard about this man they call the Fisherman, whilst on the way to your castle, and that he's within the walls now." Fawful wondered, intrigued by the name given to this person. "Is he some kind of special being?"

"There's nothing special about that human, he just fetches us food for the time being." Bowser replied dully. "But they do say he's banned in all four districts; guess he's only welcomed here. What kind of idiot would get themselves banned in _all four_?" He shook his head in disappointment. "He's neutral which is all that matters at the moment."

"Well that's good to hear I guess." Fawful cheered. "Things could be worse by the sounds of it. Mind if I stay until the races?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, it is much appreciated especially at this time. Am I able to meet this 'Fisherman'?" Fawful asked, sounding quite desperate.

"We'll sort something out for you to see him later; we first need to check up on everyone else around. Koopa and Paratroopa had their home ransacked by Hostiles so they're staying here. They might be training for the races however, I haven't seen them today, nor since I sent them to the Fisherman." Bowser escorted Fawful out of the throne room to meet with R.O.B who then walked with him towards a place to rest. Bowser knew he had lost the feeling of power in the castle when he had nothing to do afterwards. Bowser Jr was off in Wuhu as were the Koopalings, and he has next to no freedom to travel outside the walls. Although he had attempted using his hurricane machines to invade the Castle in Mushroom City, he had noticed how unsafe the place was the last time he was there, and to this day it still scares him whenever he reminds himself of the dirty look Koopak Asquia gave him after he left the Castle...

 **5:20PM**

 **Bowser's Castle Shores**

With the lack of assistance within the Castle walls, Fawful had to travel down from the throne towards the eastern edge of the surrounding area. The encircling darkness of the castle had cleared away as he approached the brown and grey shoreline, heavily filled with rough rocks and wooden-plank walkways. The tide was high but it didn't stop the Fisherman from attempting to catch some fish as Fawful spotted the human figure down on the end of a long wooden walkway, surrounded by stumps of stone emerged from the water. His clothes were worn and dirty, but it didn't look like he cared, for he had a bucket next to him full of raw, dead fish. As Fawful approached, he noticed him in the corner of his eye then turned his head back towards the water, showing a will to ignore Fawful when he arrived.

"You're the Fisherman?" He asked the human as kindly as he could.

"Yes." The Fisherman replied quickly and swiftly.

"So then-."

"Why are you not yourself?" He interrupted immediately before Fawful could get a sentence out.

"Wh-what do you mean, why am I not myself?" Fawful questioned, stuttering whilst doing so.

"You're not showing your teeth." The Fisherman mocked, but Fawful did not see it that way.

"These are bad times, and I have no power." Fawful feebly replied. He noticed that it would be much wiser to be nice to the Fisherman and to not make any more enemies than the ones he already has.

"I'll agree with you on that one, we have all wasted the past small year letting the forces of Peach surround Bowser. How does it make you feel?" The Fisherman asked back to Fawful.

"It is bad, and all of us know it back in the Beanbean Caverns, we have little time to escape." He sobbed back. The Fisherman took a raw fish out of his bucket and handed it over to Fawful.

"Take this." He said. "Cook it back at the Castle and have it, we don't have a lot of food around here and I'm the only current supplier." Fawful took it and travelled back along the wooden walkways towards the steps up to the castle, sticking out of the edge of the mountain range. The Fisherman soon looked back at the rough tide at sea, expecting not to catch any fish until the tide eventually settles... which doesn't look like it will. As he stared out to sea all he could see was a skyline filled with dull, but natural grey clouds going for hundreds of miles. The Fisherman looked back at the castle and decided to call it a day. He planned to make a safe trip down the lands into the Mushroom Kingdom where he could hopefully sneak in to watch the first match at Mushroom City. He planned on hitching a ride with Bowser and Bowser Jr if they were to travel without the company of the Toad Brigade.

 _THE MORNING AFTER..._

Eight of the sixteen teams were already present within the bounds of Mushroom City, the capital of the Kingdom and largest in all the lands. With Daisy and the Mario Brothers sharing residence in Peach's castle, all seemed ready for them to prepare for the first big race. All of the toads participating were present in their houses within the City, and Yoshi and Birdo arrived early in the morning too to get ready for the race, all with their chosen karts or bikes safely kept near the track in a garage. The four Kongs were inbound to Mushroom City coming from the southeast. Shy Guy and Lakitu were also busy practicing in the field tracks outside the city. As for the others, they had until 7pm that day to show up to the race centre for the race to start at 8. The entire course was built up and any roads it had used were blocked off. At 5pm the spectators' areas would open up and tickets would be handed in, for the hundreds of thousands who have paid to watch the first dramatic event.

Back at Bowser's Castle, the tyrannical king slouched again on his throne, bored out of his mind. R.O.B had earlier given him knowledge to the fact that Bowser Jr had safely returned to the castle but is currently resting until the time to depart would reach. What did surprise Bowser was R.O.B's second arrival to the throne-room.

" _Lord Bowser, we have four visitors, two are part of the upcoming races."_ He messaged Bowser, introducing the four humans who journeyed forth from Urscan. Bowser shot up from his chair in delight as he watched them enter the room.

"Is it ready to go then Bowser?" Enrique cheered as he stopped in front of the king.

"Delightfully." He replied, and then turned his head towards two of the other humans. One he remembered, the other was unfamiliar. "Who are your friends?" He mainly referred to Ronald.

"Just other neutral humans, they want to watch the race but they ain't allowed in." Enrique stated.

"Will we be taking the clown-copter thing?" Tom wondered. Bowser seemed very cautious.

"We can try." He thought. "We have many other people to take there too. The Koopas need to get there too, and a friend of mine, and another human friend of mine, plus my son."

"We should be able to fit everyone. Is that ten people?" Jack stated. "Easy."

"I say we leave as soon as possible." Enrique suggested to Bowser.

"I will have to gather everyone up." Bowser walked down the throne-room and led the humans and R.O.B outwards. After walking a few corridors he banged onto one of the doors that led to Bowser Jr's room, where he lay on his bed sleeping.

"TIME TO GET UP JUNIOR!" Jack yelled into the room, scaring him awake. Bowser slapped Jack back immediately for his immature behaviour.

"Dad who are all these people? Well I know some of them."

"They're friends of mine, Junior, some of them are a bit stupid though!" He glared his head round to Jack who tried to contain the laughter of frightening Bowser's son. "Enrique, go down and knock on the next two doors." He sent him off further down, knocking one door to open up to reveal the two Koopas who lodged at the castle for the past couple of days. He then moved further down to knock on the second door. After opening it Enrique saw an unfamiliar human. One who he seemed to have no sense of whatsoever.

"Who are you?" The human inside asked.

"I'm Enrique, and it's 'time to go'" He replied, escorting the Fisherman out of his dormitory and up the corridor to meet the rest of the group. As they rejoined everybody looked at him again.

"Who's this guy?" Tom asked, unfamiliar to the person as well.

"Never seen this guy before." Ronald thought.

"Me too." Enrique agreed with them.

"Boys, this is the Fisherman. He prefers to be called that." Bowser introduced the shy human to the rest.

"What's his actual name?" Ronald asked.

"Best not to say." The Fisherman replied. "Heed me when I say this." Ronald nodded in agreement. However on the other side Jack was twitching, as if he knew who the Fisherman was.

"I swear I've seen you somewhere before." He mentioned. "You seem familiar to me."

"I've never seen you before." The Fisherman replied, turning his head now to Bowser. "Where is Fawful?"

"Fawful exists?" Tom questioned loudly, soon to be slapped by Enrique afterwards. "Of course he does!"

"He should be by the carrier now, let's make our way there." Bowser ordered. He led the group on quickly through the castle. As they were on their way, Tom was suddenly interrupted by the ringing sound of a phone call incoming. Tom and Enrique fell back in the crowd and separated from the rest, he got the phone out and answered, it was Luke.

"Hey Tom, Luke here, we're all safe in Mushroom City." He said through the phone.

"What's up?" Tom replied.

"Just asking if you're arriving in the city soon, the boys are all here with our tickets to the races, we got ourselves a private stand with spare seats for anybody else who wanna come, like your mate Jack."

"That's cool, what time is it? We're on our way now from Bowser's."

"It's past mid-day you have three hours until the seats fill, which means five until you have to show up, and six hours until the race itself. We also found Will as well; we had separated from him a week ago and couldn't find him until today."

"That's good; I want to speak with Will soon when I am there. Tell George and Toby that I'm glad they're safe too, and that we can all meet up again. Enrique and Jack are with me as is another human friend of Jack's – his name is Ronald. There's also this other human who I don't think any of us have met before."

"More humans here every day man haha. I'll let them know. You can find us near the track; give me a call when you arrive in the city." Luke concluded. Tom had the phone on speaker so that Enrique could hear Luke as well. The phone hung up, both humans looked at eachother before heading back to the rest of the group. They followed their tracks up the stairs of the castle to the roof where the clown car was parked. There was just enough space for the ten of them to board.

"What took you two so long?" Bowser asked the last humans.

"Friend called, he's got a lounge for his friends to watch the races in Mushroom City. Maybe we can sneak you lot to that area as well." Tom replied, referring to Jack, Ronald, Fawful and the Fisherman. The other six of them were ready to participate.

The clown car took off, heading directly south to Mushroom City.

"Who was the friend?" Jack asked.

"It was Luke." Enrique informed, showing that he witnessed the phone call. "He's met with the other guys, George and Toby, and Will."

"Cool." He seemed delighted. "Grouping up with everyone just at the right time."

"I think there is going to be super long ceremonies happening within the hour you lot have before your race." Fawful mentioned. "You know how the princess likes to go over the top with things." Ronald nodded in agreement. Bowser Jr had his head looking over the edge of the flying clown car as it passed through the clouds, he didn't seem very happy knowing the races were happening today.

"I wonder how publicised this event actually is." Enrique said. "Tickets selling out within the first day, viewers streaming the footage from their pubs etcetera, it's going to be mad." He peeked over the edge of the clown car and looked down through clear space, seeing the plains, meadows, farms and villages below. He had recognised one familiar town of Saljiya; this meant that they were about a third of the way there. He was surprised at the high speeds the clown car could travel.

"Yeah imagine what the city's going to be like, they might have it like in those movies, with the big screens and the hundreds of viewing stands." Tom agreed. He began to notice Bowser Jr making whimpering sounds the more they talked about the publicity of the races.

"Humans, please stop talking about it, I think you're worrying my son." Bowser, as kindly as possible, asked the others.

"This isn't the attitude." Jack quickly interrupted. "These races shouldn't make Junior anxious; they should make him brave and fearless. You can do this, take it like a man." Bowser Jr whimpered even more.

"Stop it, Jack!" Bowser raised his voice frighteningly. Jack did not seem happy with the way Junior was handling it.

"You two are going to win, I assure you." He added.

"Well thanks a lot Jack." Enrique joked around. "Forgot about us?" He looked back to the Koopas to see what they thought about what Jack said.

"Why are you looking at us? We're going to race our bests too." Koopa Troopa stated.

"Think of all the MONEY." Paratroopa added. The group shuffled towards the back of the clown car, to give Junior some comforting space with his dad. Most of them became silent afterwards leading to an awkward silence. Fawful sighed but kept a smile, he thought it would still make good entertainment for him now that he could get a good view of the first race. As for the Fisherman, he was on the opposite side of the clown car at the very back, looking down at the clouds and plains at the bottom, seeming to be in his own world of imagination.

"All I can picture is fish right now, I'm so glad I could come along." He stated.

"You can watch the races with us too." Jack cheered. "We can have a nice discussion about you soon as well. The eight people at the back suddenly jumped in shock after Bowser Jr let out his biggest roar ever.

"What was that?" Fawful questioned, sounding rather scared.

"I think my son is ready for the races." Bowser replied cheerfully.

"I knew it! You have to step up to the challenge Junior!" Jack praised.

"You guys are going down!" He pointed at the Koopas and then Tom and Enrique. The Koopas weren't moved at all but Tom and Enrique pulled sarcastic smiles and nodded back, showing thumbs up.

"The city is probably packed with people now all coming in to watch." Tom stated as they began the descension. The group moved over to the front of the clown car to look down and noticed the streets were pretty much filled with people, cheering and waiting for the races to begin, and this was only hours before the races actually start. The main street of Mushroom City was filled with people and barriers were placed to block any vehicles from entering.

"Mothers!" Enrique yelled from the clown car, glaring down at the streets. Bowser headed straight across the city towards Toad Town, where he could land safely on the grassland not far from Peach's Castle. The people on board managed to notice the pointing fingers of various people in the crowd, delighted to see Bowser's arrival. They could hear the chanting of Bowser as well. Just before they landed they could see four Toads having a posh discussion, soon to be frightened by the arrival of Bowser... and everyone else on board. They all assumed Peach and the Mario brothers were still in the castle, not suspecting their arrival.

"Alright, anyone who is not participating in the races, get out of here now!" Bowser opened up a door panel for Jack, Ronald, Fawful and the Fisherman, sending them into the trees to the southeast of the town. He turned his head back to Peach's Castle and noticed several Toads escorting only Princess Peach, wearing her tournament biker outfit. Daisy or the Mario brothers were not anywhere to be seen. He quickly opened up the door of the front of the clown car and escorted everyone else out of the clown car, then to stand patiently and wait for the arrival of Peach.

"King Bowser and Bowser Jr." Peach addressed reluctantly. "Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa... and Tom and Enrique!" She finished on a higher note. "Time to tick you three teams off the list."

"What list?" Enrique asked stupidly, knowing what it would be anyway.

"The list of people participating of course. That's 13 of 16 arrived then." She replied.

"Who isn't here yet?" Tom asked.

"Rosalina and Pauline are nowhere to be found, nor are King Boo and Petey. The Hammer Bros are on their way. We had eight teams checked in already this morning, then we had Wario and Waluigi check in midday and Kamek and Dry Bones just an hour ago, they're currently in the city somewhere. I assume your vehicles haven't moved out of the city since we met five days back to discuss the races?" She then asked everybody.

"They should still be where you last placed them, which I hope – knowing you – isn't in a trash compactor somewhere." Bowser sarcastically replied.

"I assure you they have not been touched. Not like they're any good karts or bikes." She taunted back at them.

"She's right on that one for us." Enrique whispered to Tom trying to contain a laugh. Peach glared back at Enrique, they both knew the relationship between the two had slowly decayed overtime into bad terms. She still seems disgusted at his nihilism to this day.

"I'm sure you'll not be laughing when it comes to the races, Enrique." She spoke directly to him, giving a warning.

"Don't be on that Peach I assure you." He replied in a more jokey way.

"Anyway." She ended. "Meet up at the gates of Toad Town for 6:30 so you don't be late for 7." Most of the others nodded in agreement. Bowser stood at the front with a straight face, but listening.

"The others can go; we need to talk about a common purpose." He stated, ordering Tom, Enrique and the Koopas to depart out of Toad Town. "You too, Junior."

"Feel free to stay here, we can go inside." Peach talked back to Bowser, leading him towards the entrance of her castle. Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa headed to the main gate of Toad Town, what they had seen from the other side completely blinded and amazed them. Thousands and thousands of citizens were fenced off, cheering them on due to their presence. Next to them was the assembling of a giant stage, constructed by various Toad workers – completely blocking off the access out of the town.

Peach and Bowser approached the great hall to the castle, open and empty of any being in sight.

"Where is Zane? He asked softly. "I want to see him." The two walked quietly across the hall, hearing their own voices echo.

"He is locked up in our maximum security prison near the bottom of this castle." She replied.

"How did he escape to bring you to my castle, did he magically escape?" Bowser turned whilst they were walking, posing a threat. "I don't think he is there now."

"We cuffed him to the wall of the cell, he has no grip of his arms and legs and we force-fed him his food. He has been weakened; his tormenting sorcery is no longer a problem to the both of us." She stated rather happily. "He only escaped with me to see you, he then teleported straight back to his cell afterwards." Bowser noticed something fishy about how Zane was detained by the Toad Brigade; he didn't like it at all.

"Wait a minute Peach." He asked her to stop as they reached the end of the hall. "You detained him in your own castle?" They stopped just before the long downward stairway leading to the passages to the Mushroom Underground prison cells. She had recently installed a secret passage towards the prison.

"I have a secret passage that leads to his cell." She replied. "We will go this way." Bowser did not follow her, as he was unsure of how to approach Zane and how to go about what he last said to him.

"I have a feeling he might have a point about what he said."

"Well, we can deal with that now then."

"We're not uniting though." He reminded.

"Of course." Peach replied reluctantly, shaking her head. "Now follow me." She led Bowser through the staircases that led to the secret passage. "It might be difficult trying to fit through the passage as it is quite narrow, but it should be fine. I just need to find the part of the wall so it can shift out of the way to open the-." She froze. "Passage."

The secret passage was already open, Bowser's eyes widened in happiness. "So much for secret passage!" He laughed. Peach dashed down through the passage and tripped up on a large object lying through the passage; she leaned up and noticed damp patches of blood that appeared along the walls and floor of the passage, what she had tripped on was the corpse of a slain Toad Brigade guard. She got up quickly and rushed on ahead.

"Yeah I can't fit through there, don't want to damage my back." Bowser called from the entrance side of the passage. There was silence for a few seconds.

"Somebody broke him out!" Peach called out from the other side of the passage. "They key to the door is still in the lock." She yelled in a frightened voice. Peach rushed over to the side of the cell and tried to check the camera monitor footage of the cell. She tried rewinding it as much as she could and eventually caught a sighting of another human figure breaking in to the cell and fighting off various Toad guards, the human eventually set Zane free and allowed him to use dark magic to slaughter more Toad guards. The camera caught a still image of the rescuer's face; it was that of Marrec's, Zane's most trusted companions, and another unaging human.

Peach eventually returned to Bowser, tempted to alarm the entire Brigade of the breakout but after what she thought about Zane's proposal he would not seem any more of a threat than if he was still in prison. Her opening ceremony of the races were to begin within an hour, it was almost 6:30pm.

"He broke out, Marrec rescued him." Bowser sighed after hearing Peach's not-tragic news.

"There are clearly better things to do right now." He replied.

"You're right; I need to call in everyone now." Peach thought. The two rushed back out of the castle and on to the grassland of Toad Town, many of the teams were already present. The Mario Brothers and the Dinosaurs were standing in a crowd with the four toads, the Kongs were discussing amongst themselves. Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa met up with Bowser Jr, the Hammer Bros, Kamek, Dry Bones, Lakitu and Shy Guy, having their own discussion. Wario and Waluigi were talking to King Boo and Petey, who eventually showed up, and lastly Peach saw Tom and Enrique talk to Rosalina, Pauline and Daisy, all three girls showed up in their biker outfits. Peach clapped twice to get everyone's attention; they all turned their heads in response.

"Thank you all for arriving promptly, as you can see the races are only within a few moments now, but before that you must present yourselves to the world!" She praised everybody, Daisy quickly rushed over to help speak with Peach.

"Additionally, your vehicles are already placed on to the track ready to go; I hope you can recognise which one is yours!" She giggled. "The order of position on the starting line for this race is based on your skill level, meaning the worst will be at the front, the best at the back. After that, if you place first then you will start first in the next race and so on." Tom and Enrique burst in to laughter. Some people understood why whereas others looked at them confused.

"Remember, everybody is watching you when you present yourselves at that stage, it's already getting dark and you can see the light coming from the crowds in the distance. We have a full capacity of 25,000 seats for the racetrack scattered along all of the potential viewing areas, and hundreds of thousands across all parts of the land watching it live as well, making it the most viewed set of races ever to happen in this world. Try to make a good impression of yourself, and maybe it might boost your confidence for the races." Peach spoke again.

"Many Toads by the stage will help manage your introduction, meaning they will tell you where to walk when it comes to the ceremony. We have also ordered everyone's order of arrival to the stage, so you can line up before it is your turn to walk to the stage and position yourself once you are there." Daisy continued.

"Yes that is so, now the order is as follows: 1, Yoshi and Birdo, 2, Hammer Bro and Fire Bro, 3, Toad and Toadette, 4, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, 5, Toadbert and Toadsworth, 6, Kamek and Dry Bones, 7, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, 8, Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, 9, Shy Guy and Lakitu, 10, King Boo and Petey, 11, Tom and Enrique, 12 Rosalina and Pauline. As for everyone else our entrance is different to theirs." Peach finished.

"Typical." Petey muttered.

"Couldn't agree more." Kamek added.

"The people I mentioned just now can chat amongst themselves for the time being while I sort out the remaining people's plans for this evening." Peach took the last eight racers over closer to the front doors of her castle. It took a while for the crowd of racers to take in the order of their appearance, some began to question what the point was in having a ceremony in the first place, and some were too distracted by the lights and sounds coming from behind them in the heart of Mushroom City. Some people managed to even spot helicopters in the sky recording live footage for TV. It was much more publicised than the people thought.

"Look at the lights in the night sky in Mushroom City." Cranky Kong whispered to Donkey Kong. "I haven't seen anything like it before." The mood of the people began to brighten up as the time of the ceremony and the races drew ever closer. Tom turned around to look at the group who were still staring at the lights, awkwardly thinking to ask a question. "So, are you guys... good?" He asked. Some people looked back at him, grinning.

"I would say a lot of us are." Lakitu replied happily. "But it is us who will win the race tonight." He optimistically stated.

"Are you joking?" King Boo butted in, giving off a freaky laugh. "We're the ones on top!"

"Yeah! You're going down, goggles!" Petey taunted, backing King Boo up.

"Shut up, plant man!" Dry Bones defended. "We're going to win!" The majority of the crowd descended in to arguments and disagreement about who was best. The Kongs backed away from the rest, still talking to themselves. Rosalina sighed, seeming depressed whilst she let Pauline argue against Shy Guy. Enrique backed up from the arguing crowd as well, ignoring the annoying speech of words coming out of Fire Bro, yelling as loud as he could.

"That was a bad idea." Tom whispered to Enrique. "How long have we got?"

"Ten minutes until 7." He replied, moving his head over, noticing Rosalina looking down and with a sad expression on her face. "What's with Rosalina?"

"No idea, maybe she isn't confident." Tom thought. Enrique headed over towards her to see what's wrong with her.

"Are you ok?" He asked, trying to understand her feelings and the look on her face.

"I guess so." She looked at Pauline who was ranting at Shy Guy. "I don't know if she'll help me win. Even though she's on items and I'm the one driving."

"You'll be fine!" Enrique cheered. "I'm the driver for our group."

"Excuse me?" Tom called from the distance. "I thought we were sharing?"

"I'm racing for this one, didn't we discuss?" He reminded.

"Fine, but I'm driving for the next one." Tom stated in return. "We should be readying up now."

...

7:00PM

The streets were filled with Koopas, Goombas, Toads, Piantas and many other common creatures from all over the world. There were over one million viewers in this city alone. A large stage opened up at the entrance of Toad Town sat in front of the densest part of the audience, with a large screen at the front of the stage giving live footage of the upcoming races. Projectors and lights filled the walls of the nearby buildings, showing great images of various racers... most of them. Over to the left side of the flat area outside Toad Town in one of the tallest buildings sited a VIP viewing spot on the top floor. Jack, Ronald, and the other travellers from Bowser's Castle met at the entrance to the floor to be welcomed in by the other friends of Tom and Enrique: George, Toby, Luke and Will. They all seem amazed and wanted to question George – who was presumably in charge – on how they managed to pay for this building to view from. It was packed with food and drink, and many different viewing screens, and the far east window giving a view of the bottom side of the race track, after the barriers of the track they couldn't see the floor due to all of the viewers either standing up of sitting down. They managed to get a good view of the start line as well.

"Welcome, fellas." George greeted Jack and his friends, giving a greeting nod to Ronald and the Fisherman. His eyes widened when he encountered Fawful.

"Don't worry about him, he's a friendly." Jack mentioned. George seemed overwhelmingly surprised at his appearance and how he ended up here.

"Just here to watch." Fawful said back to George.

"Fair enough." He replied. "Feel free to grab a drink, sit back and relax. We have recliner seats and multiple viewing points; we can get about half of the track from the windows below." The bottom tip of the circuit lied directly below them.

"Seems like quite the deluxe lounge!" Ronald cheered. "How did you get access to this?"

"We are humans." He joked. "I'm kidding; we paid for it of course. You know how easy it is for us people to get money here nowadays." Several others laughed after settling down to face the stage. Will budged over towards Luke whilst focusing his eyes on a viewing stand on the other side of the bottom bit of the circuit. He was staring at two figures walking along a row of seats before sitting down.

"Luke." He nudged him and pointed his finger eastwards to the window, pointing at two human figures noticed by the two of them. "Are those the... twins?" Luke squinted to get a better look at the two figures, he began identify their look and noticed how young they seemed. They were surprised to see them in a very close stand to the circuit, and not a special one either. There were normal citizens sharing that stand, not even paying any notice to them.

"I think that is them." Luke replied. "We'll talk about it later." After a course of a few seconds the lights of the stage and surrounding buildings began to dimmer. The crowds from outside began to quiet down as the opening ceremony was about to begin. After a few more seconds there was almost silence, all the humans and Fawful had their eyes glued to the window facing the stage...

Part Four: The Grand Prix

"Ladies and Gentlemen, in honour of the Great Grand Prix, please welcome your host, the notorious, MC Ballyhoo!" A loud, amplified voice coming from speakers across the street sounded. The large screen above the centre of the stage showed a great image of the well-known presenter as he flew in from the curtains at the back of the stage. The crowds' sound level greatly increased as the praise of fans cheered throughout the stands and buildings. The orange-mouthed pixie figure appeared to the crowds in front of them at the front, echoing out his well-known cheer and laugh through a microphone.

"It's that guy?" Jagem Lakitu pointed out from within the crowds; he stood there with almost no space around him. Koopol Jautja, who stood next to him also, stared at Ballyhoo.

"The party host, what a decision that was!" He added, just about getting his voice across the loud screams of everyone else.

"Thank you everyone out there!" He addressed the tens of thousands he could see in his vision alone. "Are you all ready for the first race? Of the best prix ever!" The crowd roared with sounds of cheering and screaming.

"What was that? I can't hear you?" He said again, annoying some people but causing the crowd to cheer even more and scream YES!

"That's much better. Ha-ha!" He thanked the audience. "Now the contenders are going to present themselves to the stage in just a few short moments, to our left here is a 'Praise-o-meter' as I like to call it. Once it is turned on it will see how much you all praise each contender! The more you scream and cheer, the higher the score gets!" He pointed towards a machine and a giant screen with digital unlit lights to his left. "Let's give it a test." Ballyhoo moved over towards the machine and configured it. "Give us your best screams everyone!" The crowds from across the area began to scream as much they could, the screen projected coloured bars ranging from purple to red like the visible spectrum of light, followed by a two-digit number.

"That's what 86 sounds like!" He cheered. Ballyhoo began to notice the lights dimming once again. "When your favourite racers appear, give your best scream!" He concluded. The crowds' cheers and screams began to fall to silence once again as the TV screen extended and lowered down to the centre. There was enough space for anybody to walk underneath still, as each duo would walk through the curtains behind the screen and move towards their position on the stage.

 **A/N: for this part of the ceremony, some music will be playing in the background. For you readers, 'Warriors' by Imagine Dragons would be a good song to listen to throughout this part.**

Along with the intense music in the background coming from the speakers, a video began to play on the big projector screen. Ballyhoo had moved himself off the stage beforehand to not get in the way of the arriving contenders. The video displayed various parts of the world, including Bowser's Castle, DK Jungle, Toad Town, Wuhu Town, Isle Delfino, Wario Colosseum, Koopa Cape, Castelia and many other places. Further through the music, just before a drop, several lights pointed at the same area by the curtains, delicately managed by Toad workers operating on the ceiling of the stage. The curtains began to ruffle as the first duo emerged from behind; the crowds began to raise their volume.

Yoshi and Birdo appeared quickly, dancing around and waving to the crowd as they headed towards the spot they were to stand at and wait for the rest. The praise-o-meter had detected the crowds cheer and gave them a digital score of 56. It was considered rather high as the highest score was 99. That shows how much of a fan-favourite those two are.

The Hammer Bros appeared next, two racers who were not very present in the public tournaments. Immediately the crowds began to cheer them again as they rushed to their spot. They performed some little antic tricks with fire and hammers, causing the crowd to cheer a bit more, giving them a score of 49. Not as high as the dinosaurs, but they were not very popular in the racing industry.

Toad and Toadette appeared next, definitely well-known by the crowd, though throughout all of the cheer there were some boos and jeers. They were given a score of 54 as they approached their spot, directly to the left of Yoshi and Birdo.

The Koopa Troopas came through the curtains and were praised by more than any other duo so far. They rolled up to their spot in the shells, giving a rather dramatic entrance. The praise-o-meter gave them a score of 72, the highest so far.

Toadbert and Toadsworth showed up next a couple seconds after, the entire audience were unfamiliar with their skill in racing and it made them question if they were professional. Their score was given as a 29, the lowest so far.

Kamek and Dry Bones revealed themselves to the crowd. Having some experience in public tournaments, they were cheered pretty heavily as they raved towards their standing spot next to the Koopa Troopas. Their score was 70. So far none of the arrived pairs had reached a score larger than that of the test.

Two of the most well-known Kongs had arrived; the crowds began to roar now as proper racers showed up. Donkey Kong beat his chest and Diddy Kong jumped around and clapped for attention to try and get the highest score possible. From what the others thought it seemed like the crowds loved them. How could they love one of Bowser's best friends? Well it gave them a score of 87, just beating the test score where most of the crowd tried cheering.

The sounds of the crowd rose to an even higher level of volume as fan-favourite Funky Kong appeared along with his relative Cranky Kong, who waved happily as Funky Kong flexed and posed. Their given score was 93, much higher than the test and the highest score so far.

Flying directly through the curtains was King Boo, and Petey the Piranha barging through soon after, leaving some mud patches in his path, dirtying the stage. The crowd also applauded these two based on their moderate level of cheer. Their score given by the praise-o-meter was 75, not as high as the Kongs but still relatively high.

The tenth team to show up was Shy Guy and Lakitu, both similar to some of the species of viewers. Their cheer was moderate like the previous contenders. The crowd praised them giving a score of 70.

The most notorious pair so far, a pair of humans, emerged from the stage at number 11. The crowds burst into the highest level of sound so far. After looking at the people in front of them move to their standing point they then turned their heads to the centre of the stage where they could see the thousands of viewers. Despite not appearing in any other tournament so far, Tom and Enrique were the most praised viewers so far, even for humans. The praise-o-meter gave them an insanely high score of 97. They both gave a small wave and slowly approached their standing point next to King Boo and Petey.

The last entering pair was Rosalina and Pauline, the level of cheer from the crowds had not changed at all since Tom and Enrique's appearance as they were praised so much. The crowd managed to keep a constant level of noise as the two girls waved to the crowd, filling the end of the row next to Tom and Enrique; they were given a score of 95. Rosalina's eyes widened as she saw the screen, turning her head to the other humans in surprise.

The screen was projecting pictures of each pair as they presented themselves on stage, after the first twelve teams arrived and stood by their places the screen changed to the picture of a skyline, with the background fading and then creating four well-known logos in each corner. The top right had a circle including a silhouette of Bowser's face with a smaller silhouette of Bowser Jr's face below. The top left had a Royal Crown on a half-pink half-orange background; the bottom left was the symbol for Mario and Luigi's initials, with the bottom right being the same but for Wario and Waluigi. At the same time they all made their appearances to the stage. Peach and Daisy smiled with joy and happiness whilst walking through the centre aisle past every other contender, with Mario and Luigi doing pretty much the same. Wario and Waluigi raised their arms in the air trying to attract all the attention, the crowd was at its loudest it has ever been tonight now that all sixteen teams have made their appearance. As for Bowser, he did not make any gestures with his arms, he and his son stood still looking at the crowd as they cheered. It actually frightened Bowser slightly; being seen by all different species united under one rule. And to think that most of the spectators out there in the city disliking him was the only part that was detrimental to him, he remembered all those who were watching on streamed channels on television, and those watching broadcasts from places to meet. As he stared at the crowd he saw various familiar faces, amongst the main crowd on the streets he spotted Koopol Jautja, one he met but weeks ago. He spotted the building that the other humans were spectating from and waved at them. Jack and Fawful waved back in excitement, the others were too busy cheering on Tom and Enrique. When Bowser turned his head to the far right he had noticed more humans, the twins: Duncan and Tobias, standing up and clapping from their viewpoint. From Bowser's view he saw they were not looking back at him and were focused on someone else.

"Ladies and Gentlemen... your contenders!" Ballyhoo announced to the crowds, giving about a 20 second period before he spoke again, this time about sending all participants off the stage and towards the racetrack. There were a huge variety of expressions shown on the faces of the racers. Most were smiles and delightful looks, some people were neutral and too busy taking in the look of the crowds, and there were some disappointed faces such as Bowser's. He couldn't wait any longer in this crowd before going berserk.

"Now it's time for some action!" Ballyhoo chanted, escorting the sixteen pairs out. What led them to their right was a long thin narrow passage blocked off by fencing leading straight to underneath the bridge at the start of the circuit. All were confronted by waving arms, paparazzi, news recorders and other forms of annoyance to some.

 _BACK IN THE VIP LOUNGE..._

"Look at all the people down there." Toby pointed towards the linear area of most light; the fenced passage leading to the track.

"There's our boys go." George stated, pointing to the two humans, walking behind Rosalina and Pauline and in front of Petey and King Boo. The two intended to avoid any questions or interviews from people on each side of the fences; it meant getting past Hammer Bro who was occupying half the passage whilst answering questions to three held microphones. Jack stared at the twins after being told about them by Luke and Will.

"Yeah that is them alright." He stated.

"They sure don't look very fine. They're looking rather anxious." Luke added.

"Because they've noticed that we've noticed them." Jack followed on, looking down at the racers to see Peach turn her head around and notice people in the crowds. He then diverted his attention to the Fisherman, who was sitting in the corner on his own staring out of the window to the track, pulling a neutral expression. "Are you alright there?" He asked him. "You don't seem really entertained by the look of things."

"Oh no I'm fine." He replied back rather joyfully, seeming more joyful than ever before. "I just haven't seen much of the urban world in quite a long time, been busy in the mountains. I never knew about this until really recently, so I have lost quite a bit of sociality."

"That's ok then." Will comforted. "You'll be fine here now." They all looked down to see all the racers approach the starting line with all their vehicles laid out for them. In a sort of biased view, Peach and Daisy had their vehicle situated in last place, followed by Mario and Luigi's, Bowser and Bowser Jr's, and Wario and Waluigi's to fill the back line of four. The second four were the karts and bikes belonging to Rosalina and Pauline, Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, King Boo and Petey, and DK and Diddy Kong. All of them seemed to disagree with their position and thought they were to be further back. The third quarter composed of Kamek and Dry Bones, Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa, Yoshi and Birdo, and Toad and Toadette in that order. The last row had Lakitu and Shy Guy, The Hammer Bros, Toadbert and Toadsworth, and lastly with Tom and Enrique being at the front of the sixteen. The two humans laughed at their position, and were delighted to be at the front, even though it meant they were considered the worst. A loud but low-pitched sound echoed across the track, causing it to light up slightly. Item blocks began to appear on the map, coins showed up in some odd places as well. A live countdown to the start of the race had commenced.

"Five minutes till start!" MC Ballyhoo, who appeared almost out of nowhere, addressed the sixteen teams. Tom and Enrique stood in front of their Standard Kart M and stared at the cheering crowds. They noticed there was some sort of sound barrier in between the track and the stands as the sound of the cheering was almost silent. The two eventually noticed the twins in the stand to the far southeast.

"We've got some sightings, Enrique." Tom pointed towards Duncan, who was looking straight back in Tom's eye. The fourteen-year-old's eyes widened as he gave a sincere look at Enrique who also stared back. Tobias was also looking at the two talking on the track.

"Peach!" Enrique called from the other side of the karts. "The twins are in that stand over there." The two eager teens stared at Peach now, looking more worried now that she had noticed them. Their plan was to leave the stand as soon as the race ended as they were still considered 'in hiding'. The look Peach gave them was a strict angry face. She quickly turned her head back to Bowser, who was about to get into his Flame Flyer.

"Good luck, _King Bowser."_ She taunted politely as she sat in the front of her bike with Daisy at the back. Bowser was the driver for his pair and decided not to swap during the course of the race. Bowser growled back.

"I'm racing for my life here." He replied back angrily.

"I hope you two will not cause any havoc here, save it for the actual racing time!" Pauline ranted back, seeming frustrated at the commotion between the two enemies. She had herself sat at the back of Rosalina's Twinkle Star. Her partner had her eyes fixed to the track, staring directly ahead to the first item box.

By now all racers had themselves securely sat in their karts; all had been verified by the checkers to see if there were no cc exploits. Opening background music played and a virtual Lakitu in a cloud appeared at the start line holding a traffic light, indicating the race was about to begin...

 **EOC: Longest Fanfic Chapter so far, guaranteed the race will happen in the next chapter.**

 **Any queries please PM or give a review and I will answer. Check the Lorebook on my profile if you are interested in any background knowledge, it's nice to see all your questions.**

 **After every race I will update the scores within so it will be tracked as the chapters go on.**

 **See you soon!**


	11. Mushroom City

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 11 – Mushroom City

 **A/N: Chapter 7 has a list of all of the contenders and their selected karts, if you do not remember you can have a look there. Yes Mushroom City, the first race of 32, commences here. Note that there are many things around the lands happening at the same time – the finish of one race will not always be directly before the start of the next, though one race every 2 chapters seems feasible. So if the first race is chapter 11, this fanfic will have... around 75 chapters? Blimey. This will take some years, and then there are the sequels...**

 **2018 July Update: There's a new poll up on my profile about the teams, if you have an account be sure to check it out and fill it in. I want to hear your opinions on your favourite racers.**

 **For each corresponding team given, the first of the two names is the designated driver. If they are changing throughout the race then it will be said by their team name. (See Chapter 7 for the order of Teams)**

 **Mario – Luigi**

 **Bowser – Bowser Jr**

 **Changing**

 **Changing**

 **Changing**

 **Changing**

 **DK – Diddy Kong**

 **Paratroopa – Koopa Troopa**

 **Toadsworth – Toadbert**

 **Changing**

 **Funky Kong – Cranky Kong**

 **Changing**

 **Changing**

 **Dry Bones – Kamek**

 **Rosalina – Pauline**

 **Enrique – Tom**

 **January 15, 2010 (1) – Around 8:00PM**

 **Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom**

The race was set and ready, being viewed by the hundreds of thousands. From the majority it seemed addictive to view, even for the likes of the one by the name of Koopak Asquia, who stood on an abandoned rooftop looking down secretly to the streets of Mushroom City, getting a near-perfect view of the top. He had binoculars with him; being able to view all the racers from a good distance and able to see who attacks who with what weapon. He had temporarily abandoned Jeanette within the city; hence he had already ruined their bookings to going northward for the excitement of the races had taken over his will to hide perfectly away from sight. He was playing moderately loud underground music from the rooftop to soothen the mood of the night time race. With all the doors from the bottom floor leading up to the rooftop locked up and sealed, he thought this would be a good way to chill out in the evening before setting off into the grasslands northward afterwards.

Back down by the streets however, things were as intense as they could get. Everyone was ready to go. The Lakitu counted down with his fingers and the lights on the traffic light flashed red – 3 – some engines began to growl with sound, but not fully active. The lights flashed another red light once again – 2. Everybody's vehicles revved up, readying a turbo boost. Those who weren't driving would be staring at everybody else to see their vehicles. The third red light appeared – 1 – the engines were still ready to go. All sixteen pairs were thrilled with adrenaline.

The lights flashed green...

The 32 charged off ahead all successfully boosting at the start, racing quickly down the road to the first set of items and coins. Tom and Enrique still had the lead, with the Hammer Bros and Koopa Troopas directly behind them. A gap began to widen between them and the rest. The Hammer Bros picked up three bananas and launched them back as quickly as they could, hitting some of the racers. Tom picked up a green shell and held it behind them as they turned the first corner and on to the main roads. As the road straightened up, their lead had thinned and famous racers such as Bowser, Mario and Rosalina had already sped ahead. They all drove straight underneath the bridge, arriving to the next item boxes. More shells, more bananas and mushrooms. Fire Bro lead their kart into the shortcut in the centre of beneath the bridge, quickly swerving around and escaping to get a lead against the rest. Pauline picked up a green shell, ready to aim at someone else.

"Go for Bowser!" Rosalina called, noticing the two creatures speeding past by their left. Pauline attempted the throw but Bowser had evaded the projectile, stressing out Rosalina as they were overtaken. The two approached the centre junction, on a collision course with several racers coming from the right intending to go straight ahead. They collided with Wario and Waluigi, swerving aside and about to crash into DK and Diddy Kong, who shrieked and turned quickly to go right as well. Rosalina growled, knowing she was around ninth place now. The Mario brothers were currently in the lead, with the Koopa Troopas, King Boo and Petey, and Tom and Enrique shortly behind, creating a gap between the rest as they began to ascend upwards to the bridge again to start lap 2. In eleventh place, Yoshi and Birdo picked up a POW block and activated it as soon as they could. POW blocks appeared in front of each kart.

"POW Block!" Tom yelled at Enrique as they drifted up the lane.

"What do I shake?" Enrique questioned back as he shuffled the steering wheel, quickly jumping as the POW phase ended. They had successfully evaded the block. In front of them was the spinning Koopas, who were affected by the block. It seemed like a good start for the Earth-beings as they passed the finish line for lap 2. However, Funky Kong and Cranky Kong sped past with a golden mushroom item, overtaking them and pushing them down to fourth. Bowser was not to be seen by the two, perhaps held back by the rest of the crowd.

They were all struck by lightning. Speeding by was Rosalina and Pauline, redeeming themselves after missing that green shell. She bashed the two in their Standard Kart as she zoomed past in the Twinkle Star, almost pushing them off the gaps in the bridge. Tom looked behind and saw a swarm of racers approach the finish line. He spotted at least eight karts and bikes. All itemless.

"There's many behind us- hahaha!" Tom burst into laughter after noticing his squeaky voice from being shrunk by the lightning.

"Oh my god, this is what we sound like?" Enrique said as they slowly turned the first bend to the item boxes. Triple red shells. Bowser, who was right behind them, gasped as he saw the appearance of the shells. Tom picked one up and threw it ahead, searching for Rosalina and Pauline. Bowser was cautious, not wanting to go ahead of Tom and Enrique as they would throw their second shell at him. Enrique peeked into the distance and saw the red shell being cancelled by Pauline's triple bananas.

"Take a right." Tom ordered as Enrique spun the wheel, going in the direction that was not the same as Rosalina and Pauline's. "No use going for them." Tom threw the second red shell onwards, going past the corner to hit Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, who were unfortunately itemless. Tom threw the third shell as they approached Funky and Cranky, hitting them again and annoying them at the same time.

"AND KING BOO AND PETEY TAKE THE LEAD AS THEY APPROACH THEIR THIRD LAP, THAT'S QUITE A LEAD THEY HAVE THERE." Ballyhoo announced through the speakers assembled around the circuit.

"Already?" Kamek said to Dry Bones, as the two tried to get out of double-figure positions. They passed the second set of item boxes and acquired a bullet bill.

"Things are going to get messy." Dry Bones said to Kamek, quickly turning rightwards out of the main junction, following everyone else they could see. Kamek activated the bullet bill, speeding ahead and hitting almost everyone they passed, pushing Toadbert and Toadsworth into another moving vehicle, causing them to collide and be bashed around, putting them into last place.

The race went on, with drastic collisions and constant changes in positions. King Boo and Petey's lead was slowly diminished as the other racers caught up with their red shells and mega mushrooms. As the final lap began to take place, Bowser and Junior had the short lead, not far in front of Mario and Luigi, Toadbert and Toadsworth (who made an exceptional comeback with a bullet bill) and Funky and Cranky. The swarm of other racers lay about 5 seconds behind the rest. Bowser thought he had this one in the bag, with Junior having three bananas ready to defend with. They turned around the first road bend towards the area under the bridge, speeding off ahead with maximum coins. Three green shells appeared right by their tails, bouncing in all directions. Junior made an attempt to cancel them out with their bananas whilst Bowser drifted around the roads. He evaded two, but was hit by the third as they went to the short-cut, their position dropped down to 5th in such a short time. The race was too competitive for their liking. Funky Kong and Cranky Kong took the lead, but shortly after, Dry Bones and Kamek called forth a lightning bolt, disrupting everybody's attempt to win. Tom and Enrique, who were one position behind and unaffected by the lightning, picked up a blue shell, this would create havoc at the convenient time that is the final lap.

As most racers exited the underground stage of the track, the blue shell headed its way to first place, where many people were, competing for first. The blue shell landed directly over Funky's head, creating a large explosion affecting five other teams. Peach and Daisy sped off quickly, unaffected by the explosion, directly heading over the finish line for first place, escaping the mess behind them.

"WE HAVE OUR FIRST RACE WINNERS!" Ballyhoo called out to the audience. Rosalina and Pauline rushed ahead quickly into second place, shortly after the other princesses. Afterwards, the victims of the blue shell massacre quickly raced towards the finish line, with nothing but raw speed to help them finish. Bowser and Junior luckily came third, so they didn't fall so far behind compared to their arch rivals. King Boo and Petey achieved fourth, and Funky Kong and Cranky Kong achieved fifth. After the Mario and Wario brothers achieved sixth and seventh respectively, a gap was created at the end of the underground stage of the track. A series of bob-omb explosions and banana peels affected several other racers. From what the current completionists could see it was hard to determine who finished next, but the leaderboard shown on the projector screens would be accurate. All the finished racers had stopped their karts a few metres after the finish line and looked around at the audiences. Peach and Daisy raised their arms in celebration looking around at the cheering crowds. As all racers finished, a projector screen was displayed at the side of the starting line, it showed the results of the race.

 **Peach and Daisy: +20 (20)**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: +17 (17)**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: +15 (15)**

 **King Boo and Petey: +13 (13)**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +12 (12)**

 **Mario and Luigi: +11 (11)**

 **Wario and Waluigi: +10 (10)**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: +9 (9)**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +8 (8)**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +7 (7)**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +6 (6)**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: +5 (5)**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: +4 (4)**

 **Toad and Toadette: +3 (3)**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: +2 (2)**

 **Tom and Enrique: +1 (1)**

An unsurprising start for most racers, the spectators viewed the current leaderboard and couldn't stop cheering. Several other surrounding screens displayed the racers from surrounding cameras. Many of the racers seemed happy at their position and tried to make a good appearance to the crowds, knowing that millions of people were watching. Peach looked around the stands, seeing the people in their thousands. She ended up staring directly at Duncan again, who's eyes widened as he stared back, getting ready to leave. Tobias, who was next to him, stood up and gave a mocking salute to Peach as they headed out of their stand.

"They are leaving." Peach's smile disappeared as she spoke to Daisy, being overheard by Tom and Enrique, who then slowly approached her.

"That's the last we'll see of them I bet." Enrique mentioned. Peach clenched her fists and looked around to Enrique.

"You are no competition to Bowser." Before she could say anything else she remembered everyone was watching her, so she quickly put a smile back on her face and waved at the crowds. Most of the racers had already started walking back along the fences towards Peach's castle. Several tens of reporters had their news microphones pointing through the gate to any racer they could catch and question. Funky Kong and Cranky Kong were being interviewed by at least seven different reporters.

"What do you think of fifth place?" One Koopa reporter asked the two.

"It's an okay start." Funky said loudly. "There are loads of races to go and I'm sure we will do better in those, I'm not a fan of Mushroom City, but I promise you there's way more to see from us!" He chanted. Cranky Kong smiled and nodded in agreement. "We will do better soon!" He said.

"What do you think of the newcomers?" Another interviewer asked.

"Well I've never raced with the Hammer Bros; I never really encountered them in that race either. I guess they are alright."

"What about the humans?" Funky said nothing for a short while.

"I have nothing to say about them, they came last and probably shouldn't stay on the races." He said back.

"Who are your rivals?" One more interviewer asked.

"Whoever is ahead of us." Cranky answered for Funky, causing several surrounding people to laugh.

Further down the fences, Peach, Daisy, Tom and Enrique were the last ones to leave the track. There were several cameras pointing to them as they walked along the pathway. Peach knew that she had to have an interview with some of the Toad reporters, to boost views and make herself look good. She dragged Daisy over to a crowd of interviewers behind the fences.

"Princess Peach, how did you find the race?" One asked.

"It was a pleasant drive in the city; expect to see more races like that!" She smiled after replying.

"I am guessing some races will be more thrilling than that though." Peach looked confused when she heard the second reporter.

"Yes, they will be, a large sum of money here is at stake and I am sure all the racers are trying their best."

"And we know this because Bowser came third." Daisy added a witty joke, making some surrounding viewers laugh.

"It seems like Rosalina and her partner made a close second, what do you think to that?" A third reporter asked.

"It was a fluke." Peach said. "We will come on top I promise you." She finished answering questions. "Now, have a goodnight everybody!" She blew a kiss and walked onwards back to her castle. The paparazzi and interviewers kept taking photos with their flashes as the last people left the walkway. As Peach disappeared from the crowds' vision, the curtains on the side of the stage folded to a close, and Ballyhoo further announced the conclusion of the night's race. Background music was played and projections of racers were displayed on the streets again. He stood down on the stage in front of the thousands on the streets and began to talk about statistics.

"What an impressive first race! The princesses stole the lead for today, but will they maintain the lead?" The thousands in the crowd constantly cheered on to any mention of a racer. "Come on, settle down now." Ballyhoo quietened the audience. The curtains unfolded once again to display several large screens, each showing clips of camera recordings of the race.

"We have a quite unsurprising set of results for this race." Ballyhoo displayed the leaderboard again. "We have arch-nemesis Bowser and his son in not second, but third place! The cosmic queen Rosalina and great singer Pauline snatched a nice 17 points away from the evil tyrant." The crowd turned silent and Ballyhoo put a sneaky smile on his face.

"What's that, Big Top?" He listened to his hat. "Fan favourites you say?" The volume of the crowd began to rise. "After all, who doesn't love a bit of entertainment during a race, who's not the best, but the most interesting racers. Who loves it when the races get a little... funky?" Ballyhoo displayed a picture of Funky Kong on the screens and the crowds turned wild.

"Or who loves it when the races begin to feel... spooky?" He then displayed King Boo and Petey. Ballyhoo carried on showing other pictures of racers and entertaining the audiences.

After the rest had finally arrived at Peach's Castle, Enrique hurried over towards Bowser who was planning to leave with his son back to his castle for the two days before the next race – Yoshi Valley.

"Hey, listen, we didn't think it was going to be so difficult." He contemplated his last place to Bowser.

"Don't worry about that, it's only my life that's at risk, just need to get ahead of the princesses and first should be easy. We have so many more races to go anyway." Bowser was extremely nice to Enrique despite providing no competition so far. "I saw the two boys in the stands when we raced. There's going to be a hunt for them now, I think Peach saw them too."

"Yeah I saw them." Enrique agreed. "Probably."

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Peach addressed the racers, who were in the groups just talking to each other about the race. "Thank you all for this introductory race, I guess you all remember the positions you finished in." She smiled and giggled. Tom sighed and looked back at Enrique. Lakitu grinned at Tom noticing his disappointment.

"Next race is Yoshi Valley, this race will start at midday in two days, I recommend you get there an hour in advance; you should all know how to get there. Additionally, all races from now on will be more properly managed; we won't have the need for any ceremonies or interviews until much later into the tournament." She announced. "You will all have to make it there yourselves, as of now you are all given Free Passage until the races have ended. This doesn't matter to the majority of you; this is only for a certain few. The audiences will be informed about the next races start time etcetera but these will have a lot less effort involved from now on. We race and we wait for the next one, simple!" Daisy stood next to her in a delightful mood. "One more thing, as you all have Free Passage, try not to get in a bit of a mess with anything up north. The Brigade is watching." She finished.

"Have a good night everyone!" Mario cheered everyone as he led his brother, Pauline and Daisy in to Peach's Castle, quickly having the doors sealed behind them.

"That is all for now everyone, except for Tom and Dry Bones, may I speak with you for a few minutes?" The crowds of racers around them stared at the two as they sighed again and moved forward to the princess. She signalled Tom and Dry Bones to approach her closely as she distanced herself from the crowds. Peach sat herself underneath one of the trees next to the hedge around her castle walls. The other racers were too far to be able to hear their discussion.

"Now you two have been brought up by the managers of the racers and we have come across an error with your race decisions. And sadly, I have had to have a look at yours as well because they are to be removed and resubmitted due to various reasons." Peach turned her head to speak to Tom first.

"Tom, I'm sorry but so called 'Incendia Castle' does not exist, I've never heard of that race before so I want you to write down a new race on this sheet of paper with this pen." Peach tore the paper in half uniformly and handed the pen and paper which she already had here over to Tom, making him write a different track.

"Are you sure it doesn't exist? I swear it does." Peach shook her head back at him, making him think of another track. He stood there confused and in thought of another track, since he has no knowledge of the tracks that exist in this world. "Does Aquadrom Stage exist?" Peach facepalmed.

"No." Eventually, Tom folded the paper multiple times with a confirmed race written inside. "Are you sure this is a real race."

"Yes." Tom replied. Enrique began to approach the three sitting by the tree. "I'm done here now, right?" He asked.

"Yes, Tom." Peach said solemnly. "I do not need you now." Tom walked over towards Enrique who stopped in front of him.

"What's the issue?" He asked Tom.

"Apparently my race doesn't exist here; I had to decide a different one. I could've sworn Incendia was a Wii race."

"Incendia Castle? That's a custom track, doesn't exist." Enrique confirmed to Tom.

"Right, well that settles that." Tom began to overhear Peach now speaking to Dry Bones.

"I'm afraid we've got severe problems to do with getting stable power for item blocks and coins for your track, so your chosen track is no longer in use. We're going to have to remove your choice of Desert Bone as well." Dry Bones looked down in depression. Peach handed over the second sheet of paper and the pen to Dry Bones, making him write another race down. Tom collapsed to the floor.

"That doesn't make any sense! I swear that one was custom too! How does _Desert Bone_ exist and not Incendia Castle?" He groaned as he fell down.

"Well you got me; by all accounts it doesn't make sense." Enrique agreed.

"Is everything ok there?" Peach asked from the distance. Tom jumped up as quickly as he could and brushed off the dirt from his clothes.

"Yeah we're fine." Tom quickly informed, still surprised at the Desert Bone existence.

"So which race have you chosen now?" Enrique questioned, intrigued to know.

"That my friend is a secret." Tom replied sinisterly. "I don't know yours, you don't know mine."

"I guess we'll race our own races."

Dry Bones eventually returned to Kamek and they both left Toad Town. Tom and Enrique looked back at the crowds and saw about 10 people still there. The four Kongs were about to leave, and Bowser was speaking to Rosalina, Wario and Waluigi at the back of the grassland, close to Bowser's clown car. Junior was asleep inside, and Pauline had followed the Mario brothers indoors. Tom and Enrique re-approached, for Enrique was with them before he went to check up on Tom.

"What's up, guys." Tom greeted. The rest nodded back.

"You two must have had a good time." Rosalina said sarcastically.

"At least we took part." Tom giggled a bit. "How come you two are on good terms?" Rosalina and Bowser looked back at each other.

"We're always on good terms, mostly." Rosalina replied. "We are both concerned at the same things at the moment and may as well sort it out together."

"I must say this is quite exciting, despite my life is at risk, I suppose something's bound to happen somewhere near the end of this." Bowser stated. "But there's so many fishy things happening at the moment. I'm sure everyone noticed the twins yesterday and now they've probably disappeared. Rosalina's brother has escaped prison, word has it."

"That would be Marrec's doing."

"Peach has changed as well; it's as if she's making things easier for me as well." Bowser concluded his list of curiosities.

"What did she need you for?" Rosalina asked Tom.

"Apparently my race doesn't exist."

"Doesn't exist?" Bowser gasped.

"What was it?" Rosalina asked, seeming a lot more serious.

"Incendia Castle." Enrique laughed. Rosalina facepalmed immediately after that response. "Didn't I ever brief you on those races?"

"Incendia Castle? Never heard of that." Bowser seemed interested. "Sounds like a good race, a fiery course, like my castles. What is it?"

Rosalina looked back at Bowser. "Don't worry; Tom's just a bit lost here still." She turned around at Tom, glaring at him. "What did I tell you?" She turned angry at him.

"Hey it's not his fault." Enrique backed him up. "Apparently Desert Bone exists."

"Yes it does, it's newish, but obsolete." Bowser confirmed.

"Good point." Rosalina noticed.

"It's one of the entries for what would be a ninth professional tournament, shame it might not be happening though with all of this going on. There's many other possible entries though which would be in that tourney, Wild Woods, Dragon Driftway, Ice Ice Outpost, Fishdom Island, Lost Fortress to name a few." He carried on. Tom looked back at the Koopa Tyrant and started noticing his calmer attitude after the race. He came to realise that this race period would last over 60 days, and a lot of things were going to happen within this period. Bowser must have calmed down after the announcement due to this purpose.

"Well whatever it is it has happened now." Tom muffled around, trying to end that topic of conversation. "We should find out where those twins have been off to, or at least find Rosalina's brother."

"Why would I want to see my brother, he is _far_ worse than Peach or Bowser. He just deceives the minds of anybody he talks to and tries to get them to turn against their friends." Rosalina mentioned.

"He tried to do something between me and Peach." Bowser also stated, reminding the others of Zane's power. "He sent Peach all the way to my castle whilst he was captured in hers, and persuaded us both to join with each other against the myth of the overpowered enemies of the north. I know there are foes, but they seem harmless to both of us. I would never side with that bitch even if it meant saving my life. It has never been this way in all of my ancestor's times." The others took in Bowser's recap, they all had a mutual feeling of secluding themselves with each other and not to trust anybody else who may become a future rival either in the races or not. The Kongs had left the town.

"How dangerous is this Zane to us, as people." Waluigi asked. "I have never properly encountered this man but he seems to be a threat to a lot of people."

"He is the stronger sibling." Rosalina replied.

"The problem is, is Peach's forces are too busy focusing on irrelevant things at the moment such as Koopak Asquia's family and my human friends." Enrique stated. "Like Koopak is irrelevant at the moment, plus we have larger threats up north." He turned towards Bowser. "I'm afraid this myth may be true after all. And Zane only wants us to turn against each other at the wrong time, or cause alliances that should not occur."

"This, Marrec you mentioned before." Wario spoke in turn. "Does he have any magical powers, Rosalina?"

"Not that I know of, he is of Galaxyë descent though." She replied uncertainly.

After their lengthy discussion after the race they had lost track of time. They sky was dark and well in to night-time. Peach had her castle doors locked but Toad Town was still empty of its residence, having to be forced out of their homes and to live elsewhere for the night. Bowser began to offer lifts to the others for them to get home before he would return to his desolate castle.

Without having proper homes, Tom and Enrique would follow on without leaving the town. Rosalina had warped herself and vanished back to the observatory far up in the sky to be at rest for the night with her Lumas.

"I can give rides to you two, since you're on the way." Bowser offered to Wario and Waluigi, who kindly accepted and cheered to each other. A few seconds later, Tom received a phone call. He reached for his pocket and took it out quickly, it was Jack.

"Just a second, guys I need to take this, it's Jack." Tom alerted the others, Enrique moved closer in hoping he could hear the other side of the call. "Hello?" He said.

"Tom, how are you feeling?" Jack on the other end asked, referring to the race.

"Never better, it was fun regardless."

"Where are you?"

"In Toad Town, been here for a few hours. What about you?"

"We're still in the lounge, and waiting to find a place to stay for the night. Who's with you?"

"I'm here with Bowser, Enrique, Wario and Waluigi, we're about to leave though."

"Ask who he's with." Enrique said back to Tom.

"...and you?"

"It's the gang: Me, Ronald, Luke, George, Toby and Will. Fawful left as soon as the race finished."

"Ask him about the other dude, the Fisherman." Enrique asked again.

"He also left; we managed to find out his name though."

"What is it?"

"His name is Jaapayo, spelt with two as then another third a, like jaa. No idea where he's from but he's probably not an earth-human."

"Fair enough, what's he gone and done?"

"He's just disappeared into Mushroom City, probably knows people here and found a place somewhere else to stay."

Tom peeked through the hedges of Toad Town and tried to see what it was like on the streets at this hour, it was still very busy for night-time and Tom does not want to be seen if he was to go out to find rest.

"Listen Jack." He said. "I think it's best for all eight of us to just crash out in the lounge building. Luke said it's very comfortable and it would be great to see you guys again."

"That's a good idea, but I can't find a way to bring you"- Jack paused.

...

""

...

"George and Toby have gone down to get you; they're on their way to Toad Town."

"Alright I'll speak to you soon, I have to end the call to say goodbye to Bowser."

"Don't worry; I'm on the phone now." Enrique took the phone and started talking back to Jack. Tom had gone to go and say his goodbyes to the Wario brothers and Bowser, for Enrique had done this already.

"What's up my man, we're looking forward to seeing you two."

"I am tired Jack, but it would be nice."

Bowser had finally departed from the castle with the other two and his son in his clown car and quickly disappeared from the skyline. Enrique and Tom walked over towards the hedge that separated Toad Town to Mushroom City to see if the others had arrived. He spotted Toby running ahead along the pavement parallel to the hedge wall.

"Sorry I can't say much, the others have arrived. See you later." He handed the phone back to Tom and climbed over the soft hedges. They both approached the other two humans and greeted with handshakes and small hugs.

"Unlucky about today." George mentioned. "Don't worry; you're not racing to win."

"Of course." Tom agreed.

"Now let's go back." The four rushed along the quieter streets trying not to be seen by any citizen to quickly get back to the private lounge. After minutes of running through alleys and climbing up stairs, they arrived back at the rooms with the rest of them. Enrique began to fall asleep after collapsing onto an unoccupied sofa.

"Leave him." Tom said. "He's really tired. I don't think he slept well the night before."

"So glad to see you, Tom." Luke waved and rushed over.

"I think we all criticised Enrique's driving today as well, maybe that's what caused last place." Ronald wondered.

"Don't worry, everything's fine." Tom replied. "We're all safe here and now it's time to recover, the next race is only in two days haha."

"You two will do better next race." Luke smiled.

"One thing I should mention is we all saw those kids you kept mentioning some time way back." Jack reminded Tom of the twins.

"The twins!" George stated.

"That's the name you specified."

"Earth-kids, like we used to be." said Toby.

"They're in their teens now I think." George also stated.

"Yes, the princesses are on the hunt for them now, that's what Bowser said." Tom moved over to sit down on a sofa next to Luke and Ronald, with George, Jack and Toby on another sofa. Will lay fast asleep sunk into a chair in the corner of the room.

"Do tell us about Bowser." Luke asked. "How was he in the races?"

"I think he came second." Toby thought.

"No it was third, Rosa beat him just I remember." Jack discussed with Toby.

"Third then, he must be mad at Peach beating him." Toby wondered, picturing an image in his head of Bowser breathing fire in rage after that race.

"Trust me it wasn't that bad, Bowser isn't even mad anymore. This thing lasts like two months." Tom explained.

"Fuck that's long." Jack thought about it.

"How were Fawful and the Fisherman?" Tom asked, wanting to get more details on Jaapayo, the 'new' guy. "Was he not very social or did you turn him into a number seven?"

"Barely spoken to us." He replied. "It seems like he's spent too much time away from others that he has lost a lot of socially interactive skills." He further elaborated. Jack pointed over towards the seat that Will is currently sleeping in. "That's where he would sit whilst you were racing, and we'd all be on the sofas cheering and relaxing."

"It was a good sight to watch." Luke gestured a thumbs up and praised the racers, letting out a yawn straight after.

Tom looked outside and blocked out sound coming from the others muttering to each other. The streets still seemed to be busy at this time of night despite having the race been and gone to the public a few hours ago. Suddenly he heard a finger click sounding right in his left ear. Jack and Luke were still trying to get his attention.

"W-what?" Tom hesitated, having no idea what he missed.

"The man asked you a question." Luke stated. Tom turned his eyes back towards Jack.

"What else do you remember about what Bowser is up to nowadays?" He asked, Tom began to recall the events further back in time to directly after the race.

"I remember a lot about what he wants to do. He is concerned about the north like all of us are, but he also wants to know the whereabouts of Zane and Marrec, and the twins. Koopak Asquia is not really a threat nowadays."

Suddenly, all of the boys awake in the room jumped in shock after the front doors of the lounge were busted open. Heavy breathing came from the worried Koopa who had just entered. She was nervous and scared; her face slightly pale.

"Where is he?" The Koopa asked quickly and worryingly. She hurried forth into the room, with all the boys looking towards her in response.

"Jeanette?" Tom recognised the familiar face.

"Who?" Toby questioned. "And who is 'he'?" He then referred to the person Jeanette was talking about.

"Koopak, I haven't seen him all day, we're supposed to leave tomorrow." She faced Tom.

"No idea." Jack replied. "I've not seen him anywhere in town of back near Bowser's."

"Koopak's the one everyone's trying to hunt down right?" Luke questioned. "Well I'm sure he wouldn't be here, there was no need for you to bust down that door, and how did you find us here anyway?" As Jeanette and Luke descended into a long conversation about the whereabouts of her partner, Tom diverted his attention back towards Will. He had not moved out of position, but he noticed one of Will's eyes twitch and open slightly. Shortly after, he closed his eye again, pretending to still be asleep despite being woken up by the racket just made by Jeanette.

"My best guess is that Koopak took refuge on a rooftop, where he can't be seen." Ronald pointed out. "If you're telling us that you lot stayed here for a few days where everyone's basically looking for him, then he would obviously hide somewhere with maximum protection or somewhere really secret."

"Why the busiest place in the world?" George also asked. "It's a bit stupid if you asked me. Why don't you just head to wherever you're going now?"

"Because we're waiting on someone else, someone who can get us across the mountains and well beyond Castelia, that is the objective." Jeanette concluded. The others sat there taking in the information. Most of them had never met Jeanette before, but roughly knew about the agenda with Koopak.

"I think you should get some sleep." Tom got up and escorted her back to the damaged door.

"I need to find Koopak or the guy we're supposed to see." Jeanette reminded.

"You don't know the guy who's taking you?" Ronald yelled from across the room.

"Wait!" Jack called. "I remember something." He got out of his seat and ran to the door next to Tom. "I spoke to someone who said he knows Koopak or something like that. Boom Boom." Jeanette listened in. "When I was coming down from Résethal, we got on the same train and he got off at Moo Moo Meadows, he said he was going to speak to someone who knows Koopak II. That person is probably the guy who's taking you north."

"Why doesn't she just get the train with him?" Tom asked.

"Because when I was on my way down, there must have been some sort of security or surveillance which spotted us." Jack reached down to pull up his trouser, revealing a dark red bullet scar on his leg. "Somewhere near Mushroom Gorge the brigade opened fire on us while we were on the train, Boom was unscathed but I got hit once." Tom and Jeanette gasped at the look of the wound.

"How bad is it?" Jeanette asked.

"It's nothing, just sensitive now." He replied. Tom stared at the wound in deep thought.

"It seems like Peach had been far more aggressive to you lot before we all met in her castle that one time. She must have wanted to kill you." He pictured, the rapid change in choices Peach has made recently have backed up Tom's belief that she has changed for the worse. "I guess the train is definitely a no-go."

"Don't get on any train." Jeanette warned Jack. "For your safety you can't afford anything like that to happen again, the brigade are everywhere."

"Peach didn't even see me today luckily."

"Go now, Jeanette." Tom advised. "You need rest for this big day tomorrow; I will try and help you out if I can for finding this man and Koopak." He regretted saying that after realising that he would be involved with the dangerous Koopa. Perhaps Koopak would be colluding with hostiles this whole time.

"Sorry for the door." Jeanette apologised. "Thank you, I should hopefully see you tomorrow, and if not, good luck with the future races!" She blew a kiss and dashed along the hallways and down the building. Tom turned back to Jack and let out a big yawn.

"I say we get some shut-eye." Jack suggested.

"I agree, how are the others doing?" Tom walked with Jack back into the main room. Ronald got up and walked over, showing the others who were all asleep. George and Toby occupied the sofas, while Will was still on the chair in the corner.

"Had a good talk?" Jack asked Ronald.

"Just arguing about some subtle things, like how far we'd go if we stole someone's kart, like a racer's kart... It's a bit silly I guess" He replied. The other two gathered that George and Toby brought that discussion up.

"This isn't a time for joking around." Tom looked at George and Toby, fast asleep. "Blimey I haven't eaten anything all evening."

"There's some bread and butter over by the worktop over there." Ronald pointed beyond Will's chair. Tom crept over to grab some food to eat.

"There are only two unoccupied sofas in here." Jack stated after walking in to the other room.

"Be quiet if you can." Luke whispered from one of the occupied sofas in that room. "Don't wake up Enrique." Jack looked over at the two available sofas and then returned back to the main room.

"Don't worry about me; I'm staying up for a bit more." Ronald said. Jack looked at his watched and noticed the time was almost one in the morning. Tom returned to the room of the sofas with Jack, getting ready to sleep. He had noticed Ronald leave the lounge through a door on the other side, leading up to a balcony next to the rooftop, where he decided to stay for a few moments before sleeping. Tom settled in on the sofa next to Enrique's after finishing off his sandwich. Jack rested on the sofa next to Luke's and fell fast asleep.

It was 25 degrees outside at night-time in Mushroom City, very hot even for the summer months in the lands. Ronald chilled in a lounge chair on the balcony, taking in a nice cool breeze whilst hearing the unusually soothing noise of congestion happening down below on the streets. The city lights and the black sky created a calming sensation for him as he sat outside, simply just taking in the breeze.

A few minutes later, the door leading inside opened up. Ronald turned his head to see the human walking out. The short but heavy, dark-haired, tall, brown-coloured figure stretched his arms wide and let out another yawn.

"Will, nice if you to come outside." Ronald greeted the one guy he knew the least, and hadn't actually spoken to him one-on-one.

"My neck is hurting like anything." He groaned. "I hoped I was the only person still awake."

"Nah not me, I'm staying up for a bit, don't want to go to sleep just yet. This breeze is to live for." Ronald covered up his worry of making a bad impression to Will as he didn't seem very happy at all. "Pull up a chair." Ronald offered the one next to him kindly.

"I'd rather stand." Will replied deeply, crushing Ronald's hopes of getting to know him well. He then best thought to leave him alone and go inside to sleep.

"I'll let you be alone here. Have a goodnight." Ronald bowed and opened the door leading back inside. Will ignored him and remained staring out directly ahead of him. In front was the southernmost road of the city leading straight out of the city on the left. Most of the view beyond the city was dark, but it was mostly greenery mixed with the light from the moon reflecting off the distant southern ocean. He stole Ronald's want for being alone just taking in the atmosphere, and sometime soon finding a place to sleep, most likely still outside because it's too cramped inside with all the sofas taken. Will looked back into the rooms and noticed Ronald had taken his old seat, this time Ronald was lying perpendicular to the normal way of sitting on the chair. There was no inside space for him. The only choice left was to sit on the chairs outside and look at the stars until his eyes close and then later fall asleep.

Will was unsure what his purpose was here. He knew he had the sideman feeling in him despite trying to do his own thing by getting lost from the rest of the group. He felt too lazy to follow the rest tomorrow as well, wherever it is they would be going. He overheard some of the conversation between Jeanette, Tom and Jack and it sounded like nothing he would be interested in. Will never specifically told the others his aspirations here, most people think he is just here because he's a friend of Tom's and wants to make use of the 'extra' time.

He got out his phone and went to the alarm app. It was 1:30am, Will set an alarm for 6, ready to leave bright and early in the morning. Just before he was about to close his eyes after putting his phone back in his pocket, he became irritated over the repeated sounds of sirens, ambulance sirens specifically. He peeked down below and noticed several brigade vehicles rush westwards, to his right. Along the road he noticed flares a few buildings down. One had caught fire, shortly leading to a gas explosion.

"Koopak..." Will thought out loud...

 **EOC: First chapter with only one scene going on, but it was worth it with the race! The next race will most likely be in Chapter 13. Let me know your favourite racers!**

 **If you have any questions, please ask! I have some regulars but if you don't know about something do let me know.**

 **See you soon!**


	12. Queen

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 12 – Queen

 **A/N: Chapter 7 has a list of all of the contenders and their selected karts, if you do not remember you can have a look there. Chapter 11 also has the results of the first race if you want to see those too. Also do answer the poll on my profile page, I want to hear your views on the racers!**

 **January 16, 2015 (1) – 1:35AM**

 **Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom**

The fires coming from the west of the streets lit up brightly and shined in Will's eyes. He kept staring at the vehicles; vans, cars and ambulances stopped outside the houses further down and eventually the arrival of the Toad Brigade fire trucks. The Brigade barred off the area quickly and several Toads rushed inwards to save any citizens still inside. Will squinted, leaning off the edge of the penthouse to try and get the best look possible of the incident. He turned his head back into the lounge rooms to see if anyone else was awake. He crept inside to have a look. Everyone was still asleep, surprisingly, but then he realised there was an empty sofa. The door-entrance to the lounge was also left slightly open, though Will didn't know that it was broken down.

 _SEVERAL MINUTES LATER..._

Will descended down the building quickly as he was interested in getting a better look at the incident. He hurried out on to the streets and brushed past idle Koopas and Toads who were diverted towards the incident. As he approached the fenced tags blocking off the building he saw the brigade in their tens cease the area cautiously. He stood firm and tall amongst the crowd of citizens who were trying to get footage. Some heads turned towards Will, many confused as it was some tall human who wasn't Enrique. They watched Toad fighters rush out of the building carrying injured citizens. The crowd gasped as two fighters came out quickly holding a body on a board, rushing towards one of the main ambulances. Will decided to cut through the brigade tags and head quickly in to the burning building... and straight out the other side...

In the few seconds that he was dashing inside the burning ground floor, he saw terrorising flames and some burning corpses. Today was not a day to be a hero.

 **8:30AM – Peach's Castle**

"I need some stats, Toads!" Peach burst the doors open to the main offices within the lower floors of her castle. "How much did we make from those sales?" She headed over to one of the Toad workers who had spreadsheets and data gathered from all sources. He had access to the total view count and tickets to the stands.

"We had a total of 15.3million viewers and around 100,000 tickets sold to watch in all local streaming booths. Income from channels and services have racked in millions of coins, my Queen." Peach smiled, hearing the success. She walked over to the windows and stared out into the town.

"We already have 50,000 fully sold for Yoshi Valley, which is the maximum. Let's hope we have more viewers for the race when it happens." The Toad quoted.

"Brilliant." She replied, later beginning to think about the problems she had also encountered that night. Visions of the two kids-now-teens disappearing from the stands as soon as the race ended appeared in her mind again. Visions of Zane and Marrec appeared in her mind immediately after, followed by Bowser, Koopak Asquia, and two other demonic looking beings. She quickly hesitated and tried to forget about the issues.

"Yesterday was and will be the biggest success for a while; the next races aren't as good as the first. That happens in most grand prix." She turned around and noticed Mario approaching from the other side of the doors.

"My Queen." Mario bowed down to her. "Sleep well?"

"You need not bow for me, Mario." She laughed at him. "And yes, best sleep in a while." The Toads turned their heads back to their computers and tried not to eavesdrop on the princess.

"It seems like the people enjoyed this idea, it is the best thing I've seen." Mario applauded.

"All my idea, it even appealed to Bowser himself."

"I guess we're starting to get the ball rolling in life now that I don't have to rescue you every other week or so." He joked.

Peach looked back at Mario with a very sarcastic look. "Very funny." She said monotonously. "Come, we must talk elsewhere." She escorted Mario up the floors of the castle to somewhere less occupied, such as her quarters on the top floor.

"Ah, what better place to be than the Queen's quarters." Mario said calmingly.  
"Do you think Queen suits me?" Peach asked him, who was already looking around at the framework of the repaired room.

"It suits you as you are one, realistically." Mario replied. "And it is my duty to serve my Queen. There is no rank higher than you in terms of royalty." He looked around the maps on the main tables, also interested in the look of Résethal as he himself hasn't discovered much of there. "What are we going to do about this hostility problem then?" Peach turned around after staring distractingly at an old portrait of her late family.

"There are more problems than them at the moment." She said back argumentatively. "Nothing seems to have changed with them in the past few days; we can leave the Red Martyrs to deal with them for now." Peach cleared away the maps of Résethal and laid down a map of the local cosmos. "I had a dream last night... that I was on the comet observatory, Rosalina was there and so were you. But there was something odd about it. Koopak Asquia was there too, and he took one of those orange star launcher things all the way to Gusty Garden Galaxy."

"Where are you trying to go with this?" Mario asked, starting to not take Peach seriously.

"There's probably an underlying meaning to the dream though, well that's what Ledro told me when I last spoke to him about dreams, he said that there's always a meaning behind every dream you have."

"Well I got no idea what it's got to do with any problems we're facing."

"Speaking of problems." Peach resumed. "Zane has escaped." She expected Mario to be in shock or deep surprise upon hearing the news, but instead he acted like he didn't care at all.

"He is not a threat Peach; trust me he wouldn't be using his sorcery at this time of the month, not with all the other things going on."

"Marrec freed him, I'm sure of it, can never trust either of them though."

"And I've never even met Marrec before, what's the problem with him? Nothing bad has happened between him and me."

 **A/N: for those who haven't read the Origin Prequels, Marrec is very close friends with Rosalina's brother and is like a sidekick to him. He is human but his origin is not very known, in his appearances throughout the years he is rarely seen but when he is he rotates his job of bartending many Résethal pubs, meeting Tom and Enrique when they were here first.**

"And another thing." Mario continued. "Koopak hasn't posed any threat ever since the rocket attack." Peach sighed, getting sudden realisation of the world agenda and thinking she was just worried for no real reason.

"You're right... But a rocket attack is very dangerous, someone could've been killed. Like me!"

"The races have started; we all know that it's worse off for anyone if you or Bowser get killed anytime soon."

Peach laughed anxiously. "Thanks for putting it like that." She cried.

"I will always protect you from now whenever there is something wrong." Mario stood beside her and did his best to keep her relaxed and calm. "Now what problem is it that you truly see the most serious to deal with." He turned Peach silent for a short while, she had tons of thoughts rumbling around in her head at once. Mario stood next to her patiently waiting for her to think of something he could do for her.

"Well, Bowser's not a threat; I have the brigade to monitor what he does." She still seemed clueless.

"What would you do with all these coins?" Mario mentioned the masses of coins that totalled the revenue of the races. Peach's mind fell into deep thought again, she had the desire to fulfil a little bit of her 'princess' life by getting everything she had always wanted from Earth, little did she know about the other world though. She had a few things in mind and figured out a way to access these items from Earth. She also didn't want to tell Mario about it as it might make a different, rather bad, impression of her.

"Peach, are you alright?" Mario tried to get her attention while she was still trapped in deep thought. She hesitated and relieved herself from her train of thought.

"Yes, I have some uses, some confidential uses." Peach replied, quickly trying to think of a viable use of the revenue for Mario to know about.

"In the long run we shall increase the wages of most workers, generate a better flow of money." She remembered that to spend money on things in Earth would mean that there is less total money in her own economy. And unlike Earth, her government is the only known civilised one, so there is no option to trade with other governments as there aren't any. She doesn't want to trade with the hostiles or Bowser. The thought of money usage made her want to read up more on it back at Aypyidaw, where all of Muji's books about Earth are now kept and stored safely in the basements of the Red Martyrs' Headquarters.

"Are there any other uses that I might be allowed to hear about so far?" Mario asked again.

"No." Peach replied immediately, Mario frowned immediately in response. "One thing you can do now is gather up some Brigade to safely escort me to Aypyidaw as quickly as possible."

"As you wish, my Queen." Mario bowed and dashed out of the room and pivoted leftwards to run down the stairs at the end of the corridor. Peach let out a big deep breath knowing nobody was nearby. She moved over to the windows to look down on the city once again, thinking about the luxuries she would buy and enjoy with all the coins to spend. The only issue that was stopping Peach from fulfilling these wishes was finding somebody to go back to Earth to buy these luxuries for her. She needed a human was on good terms with her, and a human native to Earth. The only people she could think of being able to do it was either Tom or Enrique, but Peach was unsure as to whether they would do it or not.

 **10:45AM – Aypyidaw, Southwest Résethal**

Peach arrived smoothly and safely into the city via train on the platform coming from Donk City. She had four elite Brigade members protecting and escorting her out of the near-empty carriage. All four stood near her, giving her maximum protection and also trying to escort her unseen by anybody at the station.

"Let me travel alone now." She gave a message to the four brigade members, who saluted back and boarded the next train back to Mushroom City. Peach hurried out of the station by treading through the grassland next to the platform's train track. She was wearing a thin black leather outfit with a dark hood and dark snood, one she rarely wears but for this situation it helped her become less noticeable. She headed through the tall grass fields to the back entrance of the Red Martyrs' Headquarters where she looked around to check if anybody had yet noticed her. All seemed good so far. She used one of her many keys to get through the locked back door into the building and sealed it shut behind her. It was awfully quiet inside, she couldn't hear any voices at all where usually she would be able to hear the chat of at least two people from another room. Peach crept onward towards the next set of corridors proceeding towards the main hall. She could see from the distance a figure looking straight down at the main table with his hands spaced out gripped to the sides. The human figure seemed woeful, slowly turning his head upwards, noticing Peach.

"Who are you?" The human asked, sounding verily depressed. Peach had recognised this human; he was a well-known Red Martyr, Ledro Simpson. The corridor Peach was in was dark, not fully revealing her appearance.

"That's not a good way to address your Queen." Peach revealed herself by taking off her hood and snood, letting her blond hair down elegantly. Ledro didn't seem moved at all, disappointing Peach.

"There's no ruler north of the mountains, I thought you knew that. Why are you here?"

"Why are you upset?" Peach counter questioned. "And where is everyone?" Ledro stood quiet for a few seconds, shivering against the table.

"Our mission failed, days back. The Hostiles... they killed them all, all the fighters. I barely made it out alive."

"Where did you go on this mission?" Peach asked, trying to get as much knowledge of the Hostiles as possible.

"We didn't even clear out one town. It's that bad."

"And have you told the others? Archbarn and Muji?"

"T-they don't know I'm back." Ledro stuttered, quickly tearing up old battle plans for the skirmish. Peach became speechless, since this was not her area at all.

"Where are they?"

"No idea, probably scouting somewhere else, nobody of high rank is here at the moment. How did the races go, have they started?"

"I won the first one." Peach replied snobbishly. "The second one is tomorrow, in Yoshi Valley."

"Good luck with that, how did Tom and Enrique do?"

"Last place." Ledro grinned, trying to get rid of any laughter. "It was bound to happen."

"Right..." The two stood in the room for a short moment leading to an awkward silence.

"Well, I'm going to the library, need to look at some books about Earth for a bit, doing some research... If you ever meet Muji again, tell him I'm there, he might be able to help me on some things." Peach began to speak again after what felt like a long silence. "It's this way right?" She pointed rightwards out of the room.

"Yeah, and d-down the stairs." Ledro replied, stuttering often after still being in shock of the recent events further north. Peach headed out of the room quickly whilst Ledro remained inside the main room, still mourning his losses. By the look on her face Ledro thought that Peach didn't care about what happened that week when he was out trying to protect the people in the south. However, he also thought that Peach isn't going to alert anyone of his presence inside the building, which he is grateful for.

Peach knew that Muji had spent so much time writing up about Earth in comparison to this land that the time taken over time spanned nearly half an Earth year at Muhu Delfethal. The library was packed with shelves of thick books all with detailed texts and images printed and written on the pages. She moved over towards a shelf with a book she had not read yet, titled 'Earth's Monetary System'. This showed comparisons of how Earth and Muhu Delfethal, mainly the Mushroom Kingdom, dealt with trade and media of exchange. Peach spent some time reading about how money on Earth can be stored in banks which can be similar to some places in the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach wondered if a vault was something similar. One page she sifted through stated about what is used as money on Earth, notes and coins, with mostly each country having a different currency and value of their money. However, she couldn't seem to find out how much one gold coin would be worth on Earth, or for that matter, millions of coins. Peach walked over towards the table where there lied a quill, ink and paper. There she began to note down prices of common things.

"U S Dollars, hmm." Peach said out loud, choosing that currency to base her money upon. Now it was time for her to find out if she could find the price of the items she wishes for.

Muji's book of common Earth items included basic necessities such as food, shelter costs, weapons and utilities. Nothing that Peach was looking for appeared across all the tens of pages. One thing that caught her eye was the picture of a rifle, similar looking to some of the ones owned by Hostiles and Toad Patrol members. Each of these weapons cost several thousands of dollars, all Peach wanted to do was find how much they would be worth in coins.

Several moments later, Peach began to hear sounds of movement coming from the other rooms, the treading sounds of heavy boots became louder and louder, eventually revealing an old wise friend who had arrived. Muji stood promptly by the doorway, waiting to be addressed.

"Mr Muji, thanks for coming here." Peach applauded, sounding rather anxious in front of a Red Martyr for once.

"Princess of the South, why have you summoned me and what is your purpose here? You look... different." He replied, looking around at the state Peach has left the books in. "You know there are no other copies of these books, it would look really bad on you if you were to ruin them." Peach stood up firmly and tried to make an attempt to clean up the little mess she made in the library.

"I wanted to look at the prices of certain things only found on Earth, and if there was a way to convert coins to dollars. And if so, what is the exchange?" Muji took the book of the prices that Peach had in her hands and sifted through to the page he thought Peach was last on.

"You want to purchase some guns eh? Some M4s." He gave a sarcastic look back at her.

"No I wasn't looking for those, though there's one weapon that looks like the ones the Hostiles have. I think they were called M249s." Muji immediately closed the book.

"M249s are heavy machine guns, the Hostiles do not have those weapons they have M4s." He grinned in response to Peach's ignorance. "As we encountered those today, lot's of them. The good thing is now we have a lead, kind of." Peach seemed rather nervous, knowing that Hostiles had access to guns. "We know that someone is selling the Hostiles these guns from Earth, if we find out who that is then we might be able to deal with this war against them in a much simpler way."

"Well, none of this was related to the things that I would have wanted to buy from Earth."

"What are those then Peach?" Muji asked back, she turned silent for a few seconds not wanting Muji to know her desires. She rubbed her chin in anxiety and fake thought, trying to find an excuse.

"Confidential, all I want to know is how much I can get with one thousand coins in terms of dollars." Muji's eyes had widened in response.

"One thousand coins? Blimey, Peach. One coin is worth about five thousand dollars, so if you want a thousand coins in dollars you're thinking millions of dollars."

"I guess that's all I need for now, thank you. What happened today?" She smiled back at Muji, interested in the events of the north.

"We're running lots of investigations up here, daily." He began. "We haven't lost any today, but I found out about Ledro. As long as no known hostile sets foot in the south then our business here is running just fine."

"He said he abandoned his squadron." Peach stated.

"Yes, but he is still use to us, we haven't conducted a proper punishment for that since the reign of the kings and queens." Muji walked over to grab one of the books from the column on the left. He presented it to Peach, showing the cover titled: 'Luxuries of Earth'. "Take this." He said again, assuming Peach would want something not related to government or war. "Perhaps what you're looking for and its price will be found in here."

He handed the book over to Peach, who received the thick book as large as her hands, and just about light enough for her to confidently hold it.

"Thank you Muji, what's in it?" She asked, hoping she wouldn't have to carry the book back to her castle.

"Most things from Earth used in everyday life, tools, utilities, foods, not guns." Peach sifted through the pages and didn't change her facial expression by the time she reached the end pages.

She handed the book back.

"Nothing I need is in here either." Muji looked surprised as he received the heavy book.

"Well, I best be going then, got to sort out the fighters for tomorrow. You best get going as well if you want to prepare at all for the next race, congratulations by the way." She smiled.

"Thank you." She praised, shortly leading to an awkward silence as Peach was unsure whether or not to say anything about rewarding him for what he's done to protect her indirectly. Her sudden response was to rush out of the room and head back to Aypyidaw station. Muji watched as she headed out, admiring that she still has the youth in her, bringing back memories of knowing her when she was a child.

"I can't believe she's the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom." He said to himself well after she left the building.

 **2:30PM**

 **Mushroom City, Mushroom Kingdom**

Peach had arrived back in her castle, rushing quickly back to her quarters. After not finding enough information about her desires from Earth, the only other people she could ask for advice were humans native to Earth, like her on-and-off friends Tom and Enrique. She had a look at the coin mountain that was erected in her great hall which has been sealed off for storage purposes for the time being. The revenue from the tickets amassed more gold than Peach had ever seen before, spanning a several metres in height. Peach decided to close the doors behind her as she entered her bedroom, ensuring no Toad Brigade member would accidentally walk in. She crawled over her massive bed and reached for her bedside table, where she had kept her private notebook. Contently she grabbed her pen and notebook and opened it up to remind her of all the things she had written down to buy. She had the urge to go on a massive shopping spree from Earth knowing how much money she had. Peach reached over to a button on the back wall, recording her voice.

"Search for Tom Tûnis, and bring him to my room."

"Yes, my queen." The operator on the other side responded.

Peach slid down from her pillow resting on the duvet, waiting for the Brigade to bring the person she needs.

After the long waiting period in which Peach decided to nap through, Tom eventually approached her bedroom, waiting outside while escorted by two Brigade members. The guards stood their ground and bowed to Peach as she strolled towards the outside of her bedroom.

"You may go." She dismissed the two, grabbing Tom's hand and bringing him into the bedroom, quickly closing the door behind him.

"What is it? I was with my friends this morning, and now you've summoned me here. It better be worth it." He watched the princess rush over to her bedside table and pick up the notebook, quickly returning to him in a matter of seconds.

"I have a job for you."

"Didn't we stop this, years ago?"

"But only you are trustworthy to do this job." Peach explained. "I need you to do some Earth-shopping within the next few days, when you have time that isn't too close to any race." Tom sighed in confusion, he then facepalmed and stared directly into Peach's eyes.

"Don't you remember how time works, Peach? If I go to Earth and spend an hour shopping for things you need that takes 10 days and therefore I miss five races! I can't go shopping for you for that."

Peach froze, knowing that her last plan to get what she wanted was a failure. "But what if you used the time machine, and then go to Earth to shop, then you won't be late for anything. There's also a massive reward for you when you get back." She said, prompting Tom to do her bidding once again, now beginning to improvise a way to reward him if he does this job.

Tom looked back at her doubtfully, and snatched the notebook from her. "Is there a list of things you want in here? And doesn't that time machine only work as a memory visitor, or just a simulation?" He questioned.

Peach looked back at him and tried to think of a new idea. "But what if you go back to Earth whilst in the simulation?" Tom stood in thought for a few seconds. "Haha, don't have an excuse now."

"I'll do it, but let me see what you want me to get, I'm assuming I'll need some coins for this. I will be spending quite some time on Earth... wait a minute, I will be spending days and days on Earth, because time still goes by when I use the 'time machine'." He sifted through to the page with writing on it in the notebook and examined the list of things she wanted. After a few seconds Tom closed the book and looked back at Peach in complete disappointment.

"Is this how you're spending the wealth of the people? You want luxury clothes, jewellery, champagnes and shoes?"

"Don't worry Tom, this would only be worth a few coins, I have far much more money to spend other things on, these are just some luxuries I need, I want to style up for these occasions. I want to look like a Queen and not a Princess." Tom calmed down after hearing Peach's plan, still knowing that he can't simply go to Earth in any sort of way possible.

"If I use the time machine and go to Earth it will still track time here, so I will be gone 'forever'. I assume there have been no tweaks to that obsolete thing since Madison hasn't been doing anything for some time in terms of inventions. She's in her own world of things." He stated. Peach was starting to run out of ideas for this, and was on the verge of giving up for the time being. "If you want to find these things on Earth then you're going to have to find some sort of way to make Earth slower compared to here, or use an actual time machine. Maybe Zane knows how to do time manipulations; he is basically a wizard after all." He carried on. Peach remained still in thought, being reminded of her past experiences with that man, even the recent events spanning only days ago.

"Zane and I... we aren't the best of friends. He always persuades me to do the most corrupt things possible and I always disagree, one time he wanted me to stop this entire tournament and make allies with Bowser, I'm sure we both know how that would turn out."

"You _are_ going to kill Bowser if he loses, yes?"

"Of course, a deal is a deal, a contract is a contract. I had him go near Acorn Plains and sign it himself; it was his desire and a great way to go if he does lose... which he will." Peach laughed after knowing what she said. "It was destined for him to go at this time, and what an event this shall be, one of thirty-two and I already feel that 2008 vibe."

"I get you, it was a good vibe."

"You weren't even around in 2008." Tom only remembered 2008 through his young self playing on the Wii.

"I know, but I know what happened, and I looked in to it. It must have been so great."

"It was my favourite series, sixth series, bikes and more racers... How old would you have been around then?"

"About 17." Tom said, remembering that he had only just turned 19 when he first arrived in this world. Peach looked around the room imagining all the things about to happen soon, warming her heart.

"You know, sometimes I wouldn't mind just spending an evening sitting here not worrying about anything having a great conversation with some of the most interesting people around here." She smiled back at Tom, who was trying to sense something he was uncomfortable with. He noticed Peach become more subtle and less focused on the current agenda.

"I'm sure once you clear out the Hostiles and Bowser and the other guy, maybe all your days will be like that. Then you can relax every day, and be a Queen and not a Princess."

"Why not have those days now?" Peach questioned back. "Everything between me and Bowser, and Koopak is under control now; if Koopak gets spotted by any Brigade or Patrol he will be taken to me unarmed. Earlier today I was in Aypyidaw and I spoke to Muji about the Hostile situation, he currently has things under control, there will be no burden coming south of those mountains."

"I guess you can, any day that isn't a race day feel free to celebrate." As soon as Tom said the word celebrate Peach turned around and walked towards one of the wooden fridges in the corner of the room. She opened up the door and took out one of the many champagne bottles. Instead of the normal Toad company-produced champagnes, she took out a vintage bottle from Earth, one that was already open.

"You know this... mote? Is so good I think it's one really expensive from Earth, I really wanted more of these, and I only drink these on special occasions." Tom sighed after looking at the bottle. "Would you like a glass?" Peach offered, smiling back at him again.

"I'm not a drinker." He replied solemnly.

"What do you mean not a drinker?" Peach laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?" Tom thought she obviously didn't know what the Earth term meant.

"I don't drink those kinds of drinks; they mess up the mind after having too much." Peach looked at her already filled glass and tried to see if there was something weird about it.

"But it tastes so good, I guess I've noticed something weird happen sometimes." She contemplated as she drank some more. "I have it in moderation now, can't give it up so I just have to reduce how much I have."

"Anyway." Tom tried to bring back the previous topic. "I can't get you those things you want from Earth, but Zane might be able to do it for you, you will have to see him about."

"Wherever he is." She sobbed. "He and Marrec are off grid at the moment."

"And my friends might be off grid soon enough now that I've had to leave them _again._ You can't have your eyes on everyone you know. But soon enough he'll return, you won't have to try he will just appear because he wants to appear. Who wouldn't want to tune in to any of these races?"

"Koopak Asquia, any of the Red Martyrs, Hostiles, anyone in space." Peach answered the rhetorical question needlessly.

"I probably won't be able to see my friends for a while since they won't be allowed access to most places, plus they didn't get any tickets for Yoshi Valley or any of the next races I think, can't remember."

"Some of your friends are a bad influence, especially the ones I don't know the names of, and they just go wherever they want as if they have the authority to do so. Law breakers they are."

"Give them Free Passage and I will tell them not to cause any havoc." Tom suggested. The princess considered the option, but still seemed to wary about the safety of her people. "I mean open fire at an abandoned train station is a bit extreme. Stop killing humans, you're one yourself."

"Those humans are migrants from Earth." Tom immediately pointed to himself.

"You've proved your worth, these people just came here out of nowhere thanks to Enrique doing whatever they want, and they're abusing this land."

"You should've signed them up like you did to me and Enrique, five years ago."

"There's too many of them and they wouldn't abide as much as you two did, we appointed Jack as well to be mentored by Marrec _back when he was a good person_ and Jack withdrew, the bitch still figured how to get here though, and didn't stop returning here, now he lives here."

"I guess you gotta make do."

Peach sighed, swirling the champagne in her glass before finishing it off. "It's falling towards the evening where I should really be going and getting things done, but now that I have almost everything within the city under control of the Toads, I can really relax now every time there's no race." She started to feel constant paranoia over the past few weeks, without having a near-equal opposition or being captured all the time, Peach had forgotten what it was like to have everything she wanted again.

"That's what being a true queen is – back on Earth those with that kind of power had only a few things to do, the main thing being consulting alliances between other kingdoms. In this case, there aren't any." Tom added. "I wouldn't consider the hostiles in the north to be another type of kingdom, also I really think we should give those people another name to go by, the word 'hostiles' really isn't a word to describe a full force of violent Koopas."

"Why do you think it's a bad word?"

"Because if I say 'hostiles on your left', that usage could either refer to those Koopas or just a group of aggressive thugs, who are not necessarily Koopas." He lectured, having to take into account more differences between Earth and Muhu Delfethal.

"Everyone here recognises them as the hostiles, Tom." Peach replied. "It would not refer to a group of thugs, that's not the word we would describe them as." He realised now that in the efforts of war he would have to adjust to any of the different terms that were used here.

"Very well then, if you have nothing to do I do have one suggestion as to something that can occupy your time." He mentioned.

"And what might that be?" Peach wondered, going over to the fridges to get some more champagne.

"Don't drink any more of that, I think you've had enough." To ordered. Peach looked back at him, feeling rather offended at how someone had told her what to do.

"I will have only one more." Peach said, calming herself down on the inside. Tom just looked back at her with a frown, waiting for her to return.

"As Bowser has no power, there are many of his old servants or allies who no longer side with him. These people have been kept as kind-of-prisoners under the security of the Brigade. They just want to live freed lives now which you are currently preventing from happening."

"What kind of people are you talking about? I need names." Peach considered. "I guess some people are relatively free, like Donkey Kong and Wario. But who have we got captured?"

"There was somebody I spoke to yesterday about this. He said that the old servants of Bowser are being purged by the Patrol within the lands, that's why all of his friends are in hiding. This person was Fawful." Peach took this message into long consideration, for she feared if she let everyone free that it made it easy for anyone to rebel against the crown. She sensed that not everyone would've stopped siding with Bowser and that there'd still be some people out there who would oppose her.

"If anyone wants to submit to living under my rules in the land then they are willing to do so. I will get all these evildoers to prove themselves if they turn themselves in to the Patrol. It was their fault to follow Bowser in the past. Anyone who will refuse to turn in will still be purged all the same. I will tell my Patrol and Brigade forces soon that if they see anyone who originally opposed the crown then they will be approached more lightly and will be given the opportunity to submit to me. If not, then the consequences are still imminent." She told Tom rather ruthlessly, showing her current power. "If you bring me Fawful in two days time after Yoshi Valley, then I can consult with him, if we are on good terms then I will send him off to wherever his friends are with the message of mercy."

The commanding side of Peach began to stand out more as Tom heeded her words.

"Unfortunately, I have no idea of the whereabouts of Fawful since I last saw him when we both arrived in Mushroom City." Tom apologised, looking back at Peach with her strict look on.

"I shall send out an order for the Brigade to find him, and any other person they see, to return to their friends bearing the message." Peach quickly finished her second glass, heading out of her room. "I want you out of here by tonight." She called from across the corridors. "I've got some ruling to do." She soon disappeared from Tom's vision; he stayed in the same position in the room looking into the distance for a few seconds, and then decided to head out of the room. To his left he caught a glimpse of a human hiding on the end of the left corridor, perpendicular to the direction Peach had disappeared from; it was Enrique.

"What are you doing here?" Tom whispered loudly, hoping nobody but Enrique could hear him.

"I was waiting for you to be done with the princess, seems like you spent quite a while with her." He replied. Tom signalled for Enrique to get inside of Peach's room, somewhere they could both be unseen by any Toad wandering inside the castle.

"Did you watch Peach leave me then?"

"Yeah she was like 'I want you out of here I got stuff to do'." Enrique joked around impersonating her. He closed the doors quickly behind him and looked around the vast expensive room.

"She didn't get me escorted out of here; she just let me stay here." Tom stated.

"I think she likes you." He tried to joke around more with Tom, but he wasn't interested at all.

"Tell me what you heard."

"Not much." Enrique replied. "I only heard things about showing mercy to some of the old servants of Bowser. Nothing much."

"She's giving out a message to the Brigade about finding the other servants of Bowser, like Fawful. He will have to submit himself to the rule of Peach or else he will be killed, just like most others."

The sky turned dark, business in the city was as usual and streets were filled with citizens, acting normal everyday lives in between the races. Enrique looked out of the window and saw the skyline of the city; he gazed into the fact that Peach's Castle stood taller than most buildings in the city, for he could see all the way to the other side. The night was clear, clearer than any look back on Earth.

"You know we still haven't seen Will since last night, we all had no idea where he went off to. Some people are saying it's because of that house fire." Viewing the site of the burning building reminded Enrique of the incident.

"I'm sure that man has got his own things to do around here. There isn't so much to do around here when you have no idea where everything is and who everyone is." Tom replied, also looking out of the window. He turned his head towards Enrique after noticing his stomach rumbling.

"You know I think we should get something to eat." Enrique noticed. "I haven't eaten since this morning." The two headed out of the room calmly.

Further into the evening the Mario brothers arrived at the castle after a day full of training. Mario was eager to find out the whereabouts of Peach after the first race and to see what she was up to. He noticed that over the past few weeks his reputation as a saviour and a do-gooder was fading. Now that his arch-nemesis was no longer a threat, it seemed that the Mushroom Kingdom had no use for him. The brigade spread the message several hours ago to all former enemies of the crown.

Having overheard the message from passersby and its instructions to meet at the castle, Mario was determined to follow them, hoping that Peach would be there waiting. He spotted Peach at the end of a corridor, consulting with some Toads managing orders. He wished desperately to speak to her.

"Get those shipments back to Wuhu Island, and I want to bring Boom Boom back here before anything happens, I know what he's like." Those were the last and only words Mario managed to catch from Peach discussing with the Toads.

"Yes my queen, I will get back to you in the morning about those shipments." The Toad turned away from the corridor and out of sight. Mario, sticking to his true nature, decided not to question about the shipments or Boom Boom and instead just hurried over to speak to Peach, who didn't seem as excited to see him as she used to.

"My Queen, how have you been?" Mario spoke joyfully, bowing down to Peach as he stood in front of her. Luigi decided to go back outside of the castle to save himself from being awkward around the other two.

"I have been busy, Mario." She replied in a lower pitch than what Mario was used to, he noticed the lightness in her voice when talking to him was long gone for weeks now. "There's been many things to sort out whilst these races are going on. But then again I don't really need that much practice." She smiled back at him, restoring his hope that he has a chance.

"I brought you flowers." Mario revealed from the back a large bunch of bright flowers, hoping they would make Peach seem a lot happier.

"These are very nice Mario, thank you." She praised, but still in a more quiet tone. Mario seemed rather upset on the inside, and couldn't help but ask what was with her.

"Is everything ok?" He said. "You don't seem so good." Peach grabbed Mario's hand and kissed it, hoping it would help Mario calm down on the inside, she already sensed it by the look on his face and hoped he wouldn't go overprotective.

"Everything is fine with me; it's me that has changed. I have a lot more things to sort out, not just the races." She tried to break the truth to him as quickly and as simply as possible.

"I can help if you need a kingdom to properly run." Mario offered, but she knew he didn't understand the situation.

"I have been doing this for the past twenty-one years. It's these times that are changing, so many different things are happening at once, and there's no time for love at the moment." Mario fell silent. Peach hoped he wouldn't jump to any conclusion, for even she didn't know how she felt about anyone either.

"So you don't need me. I see."

"No you don't Mario." Peach immediately interrupted him before he could go into a tantrum. "Bowser isn't the only problem; I've had to face up with so many other problems other than him which you have never come across before."

"And to think that I was almost there, we finally sorted Bowser out, and I thought we were able to rule together." It had seemed like Peach had removed all current emotions and feelings from her mind right now.

"I bet you don't even know who Koopak Asquia is, or any of the hostiles, or the ancient ones, or Zane. Mario this isn't the time for romance. Even if we were together there would be no benefit since we'd all be racing, Bowser's trial is still on, we still have three wanted people who are missing, the twins are missing, and we have a rising threat in the north! Ever wondered why Bowser's been capturing me all these times?" Mario watched, anxious at seeing the strict fury of the Queen rage in front of him. He was afraid not because she was arguing at him, but because she wasn't shouting at him at the same time. Her voice only rose slightly which was more worrying to him.

"Don't think that I don't appreciate all that you've done for me, but it is I who is to run this kingdom, and now I can do so properly without one tyrant in the way." She moved closer to him after he backed away when hearing her full force of argument, and gave him a big hug.

"I have served you all this time." Mario seemed unmoved by her grasp. "Now you're like this, now you're like you don't want me anymore, now you're like-."

"Like a queen, like a true ruler. Mario I don't need this, I've got other things to do." Though she didn't care, she watched Mario grow more pissed off at her neglect for him.

"And so do I, I don't need to serve you anymore anyway, that job's done." He turned his head away from her, trying to guilt trip.

"Don't worry about me Mario, I'll be fine now. Why don't you see what Pauline or Rosalina are up to?" She dropped a low blow at him, making his face turn red and point back towards her.

"Security!" She called out, enforcing a group of four Toads, marching ahead towards Mario. His face was full with anger whereas Peach's was still rather plain.

"You can't rule this kingdom alone! You'll pay for this!" He shouted back at her as the Toads picked him up by his arms and rushed outside with him, and only then did Peach began to shed some tears.

 **EOC: More updates to the Lore Book and I'm still up for responding to any enquiries. The next race will be in the next chapter. Remember, check poll.**

 **See you soon!**


	13. Yoshi Valley

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 13 – Yoshi Valley

 **A/N: As a reminder, Chapter 7 as the roster and Chapter 11 has the first race results. Somewhere within this chapter the second and combined race results will be here.**

 **Disclaimer: On the regular I will have to say that OCs are mine and Canon characters are Nintendo's.**

 **January 16, 2015 (1) – 10:45PM**

 **Peach's Castle, Mushroom City**

The newly named queen soaked in all the emotion from relieving her saviour, and watched him get taken away from the boundaries of the castle. More security guards headed outside to get rid of his brother too. Now both of them were taken outside the Toad Town fences, not allowed to be brought back into the walls of the castle. From behind, Daisy approached Peach, also looking out through the doors and seeing the two plumbers get taken away. She turned upset, but not too much after looking at Peach's face and seeing not much emotion.

"You rid them away just like that." Daisy cried with the slightest bit of emotion.

"I had to." Peach replied, looking back at the other princess. "I have to take matters into the hands of a queen now. No time for petty love tricks. We are to win this tournament as well to get what we deserve." Daisy looked back at her and removed her upsetting frown. She nodded in agreement, hoping to seem strong enough to withstand the affections of her old lover.

"We need some rest; the race tomorrow is much earlier." Peach mentioned. "It is an early afternoon race." She put her arm on Daisy's shoulder and smiled. "You and I will witness these changing times at the highest stage of power so far." The two walked further into the castle as the doors began to close by the Brigade security, turning toward the stairs and up towards places of rest...

Much later into the night, Peach had woken herself up and appeared in an unusual but familiar place. A place she had been several times before over the past few days. This time, she knew it was a dream, and felt the lucidness in her. Her vision was purplised; with dark fog in the distance, her views were surrounded by dark leafless trees. As she got up she realised she was also wearing the same dark clothes she wore earlier that day when she visited Aypyidaw and not her gown that she normally wore to sleep. The further she travelled the more the wind from the dark fog blew into her face. The trees blustered despite having no leaves, and the edges of her vision darkened. She then turned to her left through a passage surrounded by trees to see a familiar human cuffed to a large central tree. She saw a figure of Zane this time, strapped to the tree; mouthless.

She was not afraid, for this time she had known what would've usually happened by now in the dream and tried to evade it. Instead of becoming scared of the unfamiliar place she embraced the fears and wanted to investigate the source of these nightmares further in depth.

"I wonder if you're also having the same dream." She said to Zane, who seemed unresponsive being cuffed to the tree by its branches.

"Indeed he is." A dark, deep voice echoed through the purple woodlands, coming from all sides. "You're not the only one blessed with corruption." She recognised this voice before and seen it in previous dreams, though she didn't know who the voice belonged to.

Peach was smart, instead of going straight to the point and asking why she was here, she followed on and decided to investigate more.

"Why cuff him to a tree?" She asked the voice, knowing that Zane wouldn't give an answer.

"Fate has bonded him with nature, like you have been bonded with power. Don't throw it away, like you threw away your lover." Zane looked back at Peach, also hearing the voice.

"He's not my lover." She looked back at Zane. "He was."

"Yes, he was, but who... _is_? There are many out there that you have the same feelings for." The voice started to reveal some dark truths, some which Peach really wanted to keep secret. The wind blew harder, and colder, and the gaps between the trees appeared darker. Zane still appeared plain-looking, only looking directly at Peach.

"No, you're lying, whoever you are." Peach started to appear anxious, wanting to get out of this dream. The voice gave no reply afterwards. She looked up standing still wondering where the voice had disappeared to. After being blushed by more wind she looked back down and noticed Zane had disappeared. She stood confused, soon to be grabbed by two branches and pulling her backwards rapidly towards another tree. Peach screamed as she gradually accelerated towards the large tree.

Then she woke up, screaming, and then stopping immediately after she realised where she was: back in her room, surrounded by richness and safety. This was the first dream Peach had in that place where there would be someone else she knew there. She quickly moved across the front of the huge bed towards the bedside table with the notebook, taking it and a pen and opening towards the back with all the notes about other things she had written down about the nightmares. She had already written the words 'Darkness', 'The Ancient Ones', 'Lust and Power' from days before, now she had written in 'Zane' and 'Corruption'. Peach then shuffled over towards the other bedside table in her room where the clock was. It was 8:33am. Her only choice now was to get up, out of the room and getting things back under management.

Daisy opened up the bedroom door, still wearing her gowns and coming from another nearby room.

"Are you ok Peach? I heard screams to my left, making it most likely come from you." She approached quickly, showing care and will to help if able to.

"I'm alright." She replied monotonously. "I had the same dream again." She went to the cupboard to put another dress on for the day. "Go and get changed, Daisy."

"Is this the dream about the voices and the dark forest?" She asked, not originally believing it when first told about it.

"Yes, it's the same one I've been telling you about, but this time Zane was in it... he was strapped to a tree and he had his... mouth removed." Daisy seemed rather discomforted after hearing the last part. "I have a feeling he had the same dream, and he was him in it." She said back to Daisy whilst putting her regular pink dress on. Peach looked down at the dress, wondering if she were to ever order a new make for her dress now that she has chosen to be called a queen now. "I think I need a new dress." She skipped the gloves. "Go and get dressed." She asked Daisy again, who quickly went back into her quarters of the castle. Daisy did not live at the castle, but has been recently for the past few days due to the events of the races. After not choosing to take a full approach to ruling, her castle in Sarasaland is now the only place where she takes full power. She and Éclair have been the only other true princesses of the south ever since the events five years ago and neither of them were willing to maintain rule of the other kingdoms. A few minutes later Daisy returned to Peach's room, wearing a dress less broad than her usual type, waiting for Peach to be ready to leave.

"I had mine re-tailored recently, I'm not really finding that lady look as comfortable anymore." Daisy mentioned to Peach, insisting she would get the same done to hers.

"I might go for a white look soon, how do you think that would go for me, good?"

"It would suit you great, the time has come for you to show your true power, and it would help by giving a good change to your look." Daisy cheered, giving Peach a good positive mood for the start of the day. "But let's wait until after this next race before you decide to do anything." She grabbed her best friend by her hand and dragged her quickly and gracefully out of the room together. The two rushed into the main quarters, with the table of all the maps in the centre. Daisy ran towards the window to have a look down onto the city to see that it was busy already. The sky was bright and blue and the surrounding fields, hills and grasslands were green and pure, better than the average morning. She opened the windows and smelled the outside fresh air.

"It's another great day for a race, I can tell, especially for the race we're having. It should be great weather there by the time comes around. Peach looked straight down to the houses of Toad Town, currently empty of Toads, but filled with two Koopas, specifically the Hammer Bros.

"What are those two doing down there?" Peach pointed down showing Daisy the Koopas, walking towards the castle but being stopped by several Toads.

"Not sure, perhaps the guards can sort them out."

 _BY THE FRONT GATES..._

"Hey, listen, we're not trying to infiltrate the girl's castle, we're only here to ask a simple question and get an answer from her!" Fire Bro tried to convince the Toads, but they weren't buying what seemed like a lie.

"You're not allowed within these boundaries at these times, Toad Town is strictly forbidden, to racers or residents, government officials only." The Toads held the Hammer Brothers restraint, slowly pushing them away back to the gates. Peach and Daisy had rushed down the stairs of the castle and hurried outside.

"We only need her for a few seconds, it's about the races!" Hammer Bro persuaded.

"Oh yeah? What's the question?" Another Toad asked, trying to take charge.

"You wouldn't know; you don't know how the races are." The Toads turned angry and lifted the brothers away, the two spotted Peach and Daisy rushing outside, grabbing on to their dresses.

"You're making a huge misunderstanding!"

"Look! Peach is right there!"

"Peach! Help us, your guards!" The Hammer Bros cried harmlessly.

"Stop it!" Peach called, ordering the Toads to drop the Koopas and turn and salute her back. "Let the brothers speak, what is it?"

"We need directions, on how to get to Yoshi Valley; we've never been there before." Fire Bro asked as politely as possible, despite being out of breath after the exhaustion they were given by the Toad Brigade. Peach sighed, knowing that this would be an obvious and predictable, but ridiculous question for them to ask.

"It's near the northern woods, just south of Donut Plains and above the town of Resarh. I hope you know how to get to there." She replied back calmer than the others expected her to reply. "Now leave, before anyone else tries to arrest you. You two need to learn how to live in a society." The Toads escorted the two Koopas back out again, this time more gently and formally.

"Thank you, p-princess Toadstool." Fire Bro appreciated, despite being distanced away from the queen.

"What a waste of my time." Peach dropped her head down and turned around, heading back to the castle by walking through the empty grassland of the Town. Daisy looked back at her, still worried about the morning incident, quickly rushing behind her.

"Peach, look at me." Daisy held the queen's chin, pointing it towards her own face. "It's not comfortable seeing you like this, what happened to the old you? What happened to the same you from two days ago?" Peach didn't look directly back into Daisy's face, which worried her even more.

"I'll be better when the race comes around. Stop worrying about me Daisy. I told you, I'm fine." Peach moved her best friend's hand past her face and marched back into the safety of her castle. The worried girl trailed along, full of questions to ask.

"I need to know answers though Peachie, how am I supposed to go about this?"

"Just stay on your best level for the races, these things I have to deal with alone." Peach spread more worrying vibes to Daisy, ignoring her facial expressions as she marched down the corridors.

"Well we really should be making our way to the race; I remembered the race starts at 12, which is in a matter of few hours. We should go."

"Then I say we get our gear on and get moving. I'll get us safe transport." Peach dismissed her friend to go back up the stairs and to her room to get changed into her biker outfit, all the vehicles were kept under Toad management and would be placed at the start line shortly before the race is scheduled to begin.

"Just one thing Peach." Daisy called from the end of the corridor before going upstairs. "It may seem like I'm annoying you, but it's in my nature of being a best friend that makes me try to do whatever I can to make sure you are alright. You can keep things between us if they are secretive, remember the old times." She smiled back.

"I will talk to you later about it, maybe once we get there." Peach gave an unconvincing smile back, before disappearing before Daisy's eyes. Her own smile disappeared shortly after, still feeling ever so worried on the inside. As Daisy went into her room to get changed, she had the thought to go back into Peach's room to see what was in her notebook. After she changed, she hurried into the large open room and headed towards the bedside table. The notebook was filled with blank pages with several remains of ripped pages in between. The last page however, was filled with several singular words, the same words the queen had written down that morning and the words written from other nights. She couldn't really think of anything to gather out of the words, except she kept Zane in her head, willing to see him about it whenever she could.

Daisy tried to place the notebook back in its original position on the table and quickly left quietly, trying to make sure she acted like she never came into the room. Silently closing the door, she crept out of the room, and just after turning her head she spotted Peach again, looking directly at her. Daisy jumped, frightened at the sudden surprise.

"Peach! I was just..."

"Looking at that notebook? Don't worry, I thought you would've." Daisy's face turned red slowly, embarrassed to stand in front of the doors of her friend's bedroom.

"I couldn't help it." Daisy improvised. "I believe you now."

"You always did." Peach replied monotonously, slowly starting to freak Daisy out unintentionally. "It just seemed odd to think about it." Daisy was shocked in her mind, knowing that what Peach had just said was completely true.

"I'm curious, and I knew that you said wait till later. For that I'm sorry." Peach pulled a look on her face that made Daisy worry. She looked back at her friend in disappointment. "I'm sorry." She said again.

"The Toads are waiting for us at the ground floor." Peach offered to hold Daisy's hand to walk down together. Awkwardly, Daisy slowly approached her without holding hands, and followed her back down the stairs. "You shouldn't be afraid of anything my dear. Times are changing." Daisy began to rethink the whole situation and thought of many possibilities as to what has happened to her best friend. First losing emotions, then getting rid of their ex-lovers, and now acting stranger than ever.

"Let's just get to the race." Daisy said, hoping it would change Peach's mindset since she'd be surrounded by rivals with the same goal: to win. The two walked quietly and awkwardly across the great hall, on the way to the main doors of the castle. By the doors were several Toads, including the four Toads participating in the races, waiting to depart once the princess and the queen were ready.

They all saluted Peach, and Daisy shortly after, following them out to the vehicles that would deliver the racers to the track. Security was at maximum surrounding the racers, providing protection in the event that someone would attack and cause a riot. The journey would take an hour at least, the roads of Mushroom City seemed slightly more empty than normal, the races were so demanding that everyone is inside watching a stream or instead already at Yoshi Valley, waiting for Ballyhoo or someone else who might host the second race. Peach had chosen separate vehicles for herself and Daisy, knowing that it would be awkward to sit with her best friend for the duration of the journey. In a matter of minutes, the six contenders set off heading northwards to the race.

 **10:15AM**

 **Saljiya, North Mushroom Kingdom**

Not even the three alarms had been able to wake these two up. Only until the light coming from outside was so bright in the bedrooms that the two scoundrels eventually opened their tired eyes. Having spent all of yesterday loitering around the two anti-plumbers woke themselves up, by falling off their beds...

"Ah, my finger." Wario groaned as he landed on the wooden floorboards. "So, so tired."

"Yeah yeah what is the time?" Waluigi got up in his pants and went into the main room of their shack to check the clock. "Whoa!" He gasped after reading the time, quickly heading back into his room to get changed.

"What? What's causing you to be so scared this morning?" Wario laughed, lounging back in his bed again.

"Ten fifteen, we gotta go!" Waluigi said back to his brother, making his eyes widen in response.

"Oh! Better get moving for the midday race, number two!" The two worked together to exchange clothes and passing items from one another from each wardrobe around their shack. After Waluigi had gotten changed first he warmed up two mugs of milk in their microwave, a healthy start to the morning.

"Hurry up, lazy brother. We need to do better this time!" The two quickly downed their mugs after finally being ready, soon heading outside to march westwards towards the valley.

"How long's the walk?" Wario asked Waluigi, hoping he knew the route to get there despite not actually racing there before.

"We're not walking, we're taking the Dragonetti." He turned towards the back end of the shack towards the underground garage, where the two kept their second favourite vehicle. "By the way, you've raced in the valley much more than me; you should know your way around. I ain't doing no swappin' this time."

"Ah, I hate that valley, especially that dang egg in the middle; I hope it's gone just like last year." Waluigi looked back at Wario worried, hoping he was just fooling around.

"Ah, we're-a gonna win anyway."

 _11:00PM_

Half the roster had already arrived at the valley, the sun shone intensely down on the track, with an absence of clouds in the sky. The Kongs had arrived; the princesses and Toads were present. Yoshi and Birdo have been at the track since last night, practicing for hours hoping for the best in Yoshi's home ground. The Hammer Bros tried to make it as early as possible and Wario and Waluigi eventually arrived in their flashy whip, though not to race in it. Pauline was also seen at the participants' tent, though without her partner. It was just about the time Peach had specified two days ago, so the other eight teams were considered late. The Toad managers had erected massive stands for all the spectators outside the track. No Ballyhoo this time either, which confused several people.

"Hey Peach, how come there's no ceremony for this race?" Fire Bro asked Peach

She looked back at him, treating it as a silly question. "No, not for this race. Only the first, the last, and a few in between. Didn't I mention that earlier?"

"I don't remember." Fire Bro replied, trying to hide an unconventional smirk.

"The race is supposed to be starting in less than an hour and many teams haven't arrived yet." Peach walked over to one of the Toad managers, giving a strict look at him making him try to give the best response.

"We will get to sorting out those candidates now." The Toad manager watched a vehicle escort two more contending teams to the track. The Koopa Troopas and Shy Guy and Lakitu were a few minutes late, having to speak to some other managers and workers about their lateness to the race preparation.

"That's ten, six to go." The head manager said back to Peach, who was watching the open field with the path to the main entrance discretely.

"So we've got Bowser's group, Petey's group, Rosalina, Tom's group, Mario and Luigi and... who else?" She asked the manager.

"Umm." The manager flicked through the files he had in his hands. "Kamek and Dry Bones, my queen." Peach sighed, constantly staring into the distance.

Twenty minutes had passed, and only Kamek and Dry Bones had arrived. Peach checked and noticed the race was to start in exactly twenty-five minutes. She peeked through some bushes to see the racers' tent and the outside of it, seeing people's faces filled with thrill and excitement, waiting to start as soon as possible. She looked further up to notice several built screens around the track, displaying a countdown to the races, with quiet music in the background. One of the Toad managers became the temporary presenter for the race, it was not considered a big one so they didn't need to hire someone for the big crowds like Ballyhoo, since 99% of spectators watched it from screens elsewhere, broadcasting footage.

"Toadant, where are they?" Peach complained, freaking out the Toad manager with the new sound of her voice.

"I don't know, hopefully they know how to get here." Peach looked away from the manager, looking back into the distance after immediately face-palming herself, her mind was filled with the thought of Tom and Enrique, realising that they would have no idea how to get to or where Yoshi Valley is.

Peach's eyes widened as the wind from Bowser's hurricane copter flew by, causing her to flinch a lot as it blushed into her face. She hoped the two annoying Earth humans would be on that copter along with Bowser and his son.

"Bowser and Bowser Jr have arrived, my queen." Toadant, the head manager informed Peach, who was still inside the bush keeping quiet.

"What about Tom or Enrique, or Rosalina?"

"No sign of them."

Peach sighed once again, looking back at the countdown timer on one of the screens.

11:52... 11:51...

As she turned her head to look at the open field again, she spotted Mario and Luigi, strolling happily along the path. The crowds began to raise their volume in response to the arrival. She wondered if Mario had recovered from what happened last night, by the look on his face he hadn't as he didn't seem the happiest of people out there. She watched them get taken towards the participants' tent by the managers, all set up near to the track and away from the stands in preparation for the race.

"Mario and Luigi are here." Toadant whispered to Peach from outside the bush; he tried to make it so that others wouldn't notice her creeping behind the bush to see if anyone else was approaching.

"I saw; get Daisy to talk to them." Toadant walked past other managers to get to Daisy, who was in a discussion with Pauline outside the tent.

"Princess Daisy, by the word of the queen you must help Mario and Luigi settle in." He asked kindly, pointing towards the bush in the distance where Peach was hiding. Daisy squinted to see the bush and the figure inside, then looked back at Toadant and agreed.

"Very well, Pauline, come with me. It will help." Daisy asked.

"Why's that?" She replied, seeming confused. Daisy gestured her to walk with her. As Pauline approached her and walked with her towards Mario and Luigi, she whispered to her the events of last night. Pauline looked back at her shocked, just before Mario and Luigi noticed them, not giving them the impression that they were talking about them.

"Mario, Luigi, how are you two?" Daisy jumped towards Luigi and gave him a big hug and a kiss.

"Aww Daisy, I'm great, and you?" Luigi blushed, still feeling the love vibe given to him. Mario gave a blunt response, saying he was okay.

"All good here! Ready to win another race!" She cheered optimistically. Luigi laughed and tried to flirt around in relation to the competition. Mario sighed and looked back at Pauline, who seemed interested listening to Luigi and Daisy.

"Ahem." Mario tried to get Pauline's attention.

"How do you feel about today?" Pauline asked, hiding the fact that she now knew about Peach withdrawing him from his services.

"...Just as long as Luigi is in good shape, we should do well. Don't mind me." Mario said grumpily, clearly still affected by Peach.

"I hope you place high, you did decently well last time. I wish Rosalina would show up already this is getting si-."

"Well hello there Mario and Pauline." Rosalina appeared behind Pauline, resting her arm on her shoulder, looking bright as ever and ready to race.

"You scared me Rosa, how comes you're... so late?" Pauline asked, concerned if it would happen again in the future.

"We were busy all this morning. I had to take Tom and Enrique as well here; they're probably eating some food somewhere here. They'll come and say hi soon." Rosalina turned her head now towards Mario, who still seemed emotionless. "And how are you?" Mario looked back at her, eventually putting a smile on his face.

"Never better." He switched and said in a lighter tone.

"Didn't seem like it when I asked you a few seconds ago." Pauline thought in front of the other two, embarrassing Mario in front of Rosalina.

"No I'm fine, just had a bit of a rough last night." Mario tried to get rid of his ill mind and give a good impression for the spectators, probably watching him now.

"Good then, prepare to be squashed. We're going to win this race this time aren't I right Pauline?" Rosalina said confidently, smiling back at her partner.

"We'll do great! I'll be back on items!" Pauline cheered in response, seeming realistically satisfied just to manage items for the second race. The two laughed between themselves and forgot to talk with Mario, though they only realised after they calmed down that Mario had disappeared. He had gone off to look for someone else to talk to.

"He's not alright is he?" Rosalina quietly said to Pauline afterwards.

"Nope, got dumped by Peach last night." Pauline replied.

Rosalina gasped. "Really? Ha-ha!" She burst into laughter.

"Hey Yoshi." Mario walked over towards Yoshi, who was talking alone with Birdo.

"Mario! Mmm." Yoshi smiled and jumped over towards one of his best friends.

"How's my great green dinosaur?" He petted Yoshi, almost breaking his hands due to his weight. "You've gotten really big Yoshi." Mario dropped him on the floor.

"Yoshi really strong!" He said happily. "Mario don't feel so good." He noticed Mario not seeming himself, eager to know why.

"Princess Toadstool isn't herself; she's gotten rid of me Yoshi." Mario explained the events of last night.

"That don't sound good at all Mario, Yoshi will always be there for you." He licked Mario in a friendly way. Birdo too made some sounds which seemed to translate to her offering help as well. "Birdo says she feels sorry for you."

"Haha." Mario rubbed his face getting the lick off. "I'm glad you're my friend Yoshi."

"Best friend?"

"Best friend."

A horn sounded across the area for the countdown had elapsed to 00:00. All players were present, with Petey and King Boo arriving only seconds before the horn. Everyone was to walk through the grasslands and onto the track where all the karts were already placed. Some Toad managers stood by the starting line whilst others were in the control rooms inside some of the hills within the maze. The item boxes and coins were lit up on the track, and the antigravity part was lit up. The karts and bikes were placed in order based on the results of last game. Peach and Daisy's Mach Bike was placed at the front of the group and Tom and Enrique's Standard Kart M was placed at the back. The track was implemented with a sound barrier, so the crowds were no longer heard as the racers climbed over the fences surrounding the track. Tom walked over towards Peach and Daisy at the front of the start line.

"Is everything alright between you and Mario?" Tom asked, talking about yesterday.

"For me it is, I wouldn't speak to him if I were you." She replied, giggling for a short while.

"Go back to your kart, loser." Daisy joked around, making Peach, Pauline and Rosalina laugh at him. Tom only smiled in response, showing he didn't care if he came last a second time.

All the racers placed themselves in their karts or bikes, getting ready. Before the race was about to begin, all the screens showed the current leaderboard standings:

 **Peach and Daisy: 20**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 17**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 15**

 **King Boo and Petey: 13**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 12**

 **Mario and Luigi: 11**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 10**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 9**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 8**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 7**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 6**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 5**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 4**

 **Toad and Toadette: 3**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 2**

 **Tom and Enrique: 1**

These were subject to change after the second race. In what way is currently unknown, for anything can happen. Racing introduction music was played for everyone was comfortable sat in their karts and bikes. The Lakitu flew down in his cloud and waved the traffic light rod around in the air.

3, First Red.

2, Second Red.

1, Third Red.

Green.

All 32 racers had boost-started again, heading straight towards the first item boxes by the wooden bridge into the main valley. Position roster became unclear to the spectators as they reached the maze, for everyone separated from eachother inside. Going left, Rosalina and Pauline led the pack, with several other racers behind them. King Boo and Petey and Tom and Enrique trailed right behind them, following them for the entire maze part. Most racers picked up bananas or green shells as their first item, but the two humans from Earth picked up a giant mushroom as their first item.

"Wait a minute before using that." Enrique said to Tom, who was currently driving. "We'd best wait till out of the valley, so I know where to go for the second and third lap.

"Good point." Tom hid the giant mushroom from sight so nobody could see that they possessed the item. They took a right after the first left and then left again, going underneath a different path and heading towards the centre, followed by a sharp right turn. Tom watched Rosalina drift smoothly against the wall, proving that she is the one to win the race... only later be hit with a red shell by Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, who emerged from the far side. There were already ten karts on the runway out of the main valley, this time with Yoshi and Birdo taking the lead. They were shortly followed by Lakitu and Shy Guy, and then the rest of the crowd compressed together.

"Use it now." Enrique ordered whilst they were surrounded by other races, all with bananas trailing at the back of their vehicles. Tom squeezed the mushroom and the two grew massively in size. Their vehicle began playing giant mushroom music and they laughed together, speeding ahead and ramming through other racers. Petey and King Boo successfully evaded them, but everyone else was squashed in their pillage through the runway, quickly turning around the sharp bend to catch up with Lakitu and Shy Guy.

"What is that?" Tom gasped, peering into the distance. Enrique turned his head straight after drifting around and noticed the giant egg spinning around in the circular section before the last bridge.

"It's the egg. Put the banana behind our car." Enrique called out, ordering Tom to use the item they just picked up in third place. Tom looked behind to see the crowds of racers behind them.

"Bullet bill incoming!" He yelled, making Enrique move towards the left side. The bullet whizzed by, heading straight through the egg pushing it up in the air. The two humans quickly sped by behind them before the egg came down again. It became directly in the way of the rest of the racers, creating a huge gap between the top four and the rest. Kamek and Dry Bones appeared in front of them after their bullet ended. Yoshi and Birdo still had a good lead from the rest.

As the egg moved out of the way, Bowser and Bowser Jr had an insignificant lead in front of most other racers. It was a massacre within the crowds of racers.

Suddenly, vibrations were felt in the ground as managers began to take play in the race, creating small blockades and removing certain fences to change the paths within the maze.

"Dad, the maze is changing." Junior pointed out, noticing thin barriers blocking the way they would normally go.

"Send the blue shell." Bowser ordered, just before they drove into the last item boxes, picking up a star. "Now use the star." He said again, the two sped further away from the rest and drove through the grass, taking a large shortcut all the way back to the maze in the second lap.

"Blue shell going by." Tom stated whilst Enrique drove them through the maze, not sure which way they were going. After several seconds through the maze, they approached from the cave and noticed loads of other racers now in front of them.

"How did that happen?" They asked each other. Yoshi and Birdo were now not far in front, but there were several racers now ahead. Shy Guy and Lakitu were the first to turn round the sharp bend and towards the spinning egg again.

"Red shell coming!" Tom alerted. "I got no item!"

"Shit." Enrique said softly, awaiting a collision with the shell.

ZAP! The two were also struck by lightning at the same time.

The sort of chaos expected to see within a 16-player race continued throughout the next three laps. After this time, a gap was created between the first and second half of the racers. There was a lengthy six second gap between eighth and ninth. Peach and Daisy thought they had this race in the bag after securing the current first position by drifting ahead of Yoshi and Birdo. Bowser and Bowser Jr trailed back in fifth, behind Kamek and Dry Bones and Rosalina and Pauline. Tom and Enrique had fallen behind in the back half, seeming like they had no hope of getting to a higher position. As the racers drove through the maze for the last time, lightning was used again, striking almost everybody and slowing them all down, closing the gaps. Peach and Daisy passed by an item box, picking up a triple green shell, giving them great defence to secure a high position for the rest of the track. The sharp bend was ahead of them now, but as they drove by they spotted several racers emerge from all paths of the maze behind her. Kamek threw a red shell to try and weaken their defence, but was then hit by a red shell launched by Bowser and Junior, their vehicle approached behind Peach and Daisy on the right as they turned the bend. It all seemed neck and neck but the egg yet had a part to play on this final lap. They drove past the next item boxes, all Peach and Daisy had for new defence was a banana. The egg spun around to block the racers in a way that they couldn't pass the area without having to drift round. Daisy looked around and spotted Bowser Jr wielding a bomb, ready to launch.

"They've got a bomb, slow down!" She shouted, ordering Peach to steer rightwards. Instead she steered leftwards and got caught by the fencing, successfully avoiding the egg on the other hand. Bowser Jr threw the bomb at the egg, still hitting several racers, including themselves. Peach and Daisy luckily escaped the damage, victory seemed secure. They looked back and saw Bowser in rage, trying to accelerate out of the way of the egg hoping it wouldn't hit them as well. Only a few more seconds to go until the finish line and one set of item boxes. However, those few racers behind the explosion still had items ready to use. They watched as about four racing duos drifted past them off-road and onto the grass, overtaking them. Peach's excitement of racing dropped as they crossed the finish line, fifth. The two became silent, knowing that there was nothing they thought they could do to secure first. They knew they drifted on the edge of the track to get to the finish line as fast as they could, but it couldn't help them.

Kamek and Dry Bones stole the victory, using three mushrooms across the entire set of grass from the last bridge to the finish line, with Yoshi and Birdo behind them in second, King Boo and Petey in third, and Rosalina and Pauline in fourth. Bowser and his son fell down several places, overtaken by Wario and Waluigi, then Funky Kong and Cranky Kong respectively, eventually placing eighth. Bowser looked back at his son in disappointment, making them worse off for the future races.

Within the next fifteen seconds, all racers had crossed the finish line. The crowds in the stands were standing up cheering at the racers, now awaiting the screens to update and show the standings.

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: +20**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: +17**

 **King Boo and Petey: +15**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: +13**

 **Peach and Daisy: +12**

 **Wario and Waluigi: +11**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +10**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: +9**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +8**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +7**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: +6**

 **Mario and Luigi: +5**

 **Tom and Enrique: +4**

 **Toad and Toadette: +3**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +2**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: +1**

After showing the current race's results, the table faded and another one appeared, showing the total results so far.

 **Peach and Daisy: 32**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 30**

 **King Boo and Petey: 28**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 24**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 24**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 22**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 21**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 19**

 **Mario and Luigi: 16**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 16**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 14**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 11**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 10**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 8**

 **Toad and Toadette: 6**

 **Tom and Enrique: 5**

Some of the racers were distracted, staring at Kamek jumping around next to his Magikruiser. It goes to show how many places one can jump by placing first in a race.

"From thirteenth to fifth!" He laughed around, taunting his opponents.

"It's only one race, are you going to come first next time?" King Boo said back to him, only placing third and still ahead of the race winners. "Not ahead of us."

"You got lucky." Rosalina said to Kamek. "Three mushrooms at the very end is pure luck, especially with that stupid explosion someone made at the end.

The managers set foot onto the track, taking photos of some racers, most managers shot Dry Bones and Kamek, who were still jumping with joy. Everyone was then starting to get escorted back off the track. The crowds were cheering still; many were surprised by how Mario and Luigi placed so low this race. They did not know of Mario's upset, which has caused him to slack off whilst racing.

 _A FEW MINUTES LATER..._

"Thank you all for another great race." Peach announced to everyone, by the participants' tent. "You should all know that next race will be in 2 days, at midday again, in Mushroom Bridge. I hope you all know how to get there; it's really easy to get to.

"When's the next ceremony?" Fire Bro asked another question.

"I think it will be the ninth race, which is currently undecided. The managers will deal with that." Peach replied. "You are now all free and may leave if you want to." She addressed everyone. Most of the crowds seemed uninterested and wanted to be amongst their own friends. The crowd of racers separated into smaller crowds. Peach on the other hand, went into the tent to speak with the rest of the managers inside.

As soon as Peach went inside, Bowser looked down at his son, trying to contain his anger.

"You should've dropped the bomb after the egg. I had my way around it." He said quietly, clenching his fists. Tom and Enrique, who were standing next to them in the smaller crowd, noticed the fists.

"Someone doesn't seem happy." Enrique whispered to Tom.

"I'm sorry dad, I made a mistake. I'm sorry!" He looked back up at his dad, with tears coming down his face. The look given to Bowser couldn't make him roar any more.

"My life is at stake here, we can't afford mistakes like these. Now we're fourth." Bowser calmed down, looking back at the others inside their group.

"Hey Bowser." Tom tried to comfort him. "On the bright side, at least you don't have another good opponent instead of us; we're always doing worse than you." He made Bowser chuckle slightly.

"Thanks." He replied effortlessly. Bowser looked more worried as he turned his head facing down. I've just had a lot of thought put in to this. It's over such a long time." The crowd of Koopas and friendly humans grew silent.

"I think I've got to go." Bowser got up and marched away without his son, heading towards his Koopa Clown Car and setting off immediately upwards as he entered.

"Junior why didn't you go with him?" Enrique asked the son, who was staring directly at the Car flying off.

"He didn't want me to come with him." Junior sobbed, looking back to the ground in perturbation. Neither the Koopa Troopas nor the Hammer Bros had anything to say after watching their ex-ruler leave his son before setting off into the sky. Tom looked to his left to see Shy Guy and Lakitu hop on to a cloud together and set off, with Kamek and Dry Bones hopping on to Kamek's broomstick and setting off with them. Those four seemed to be in a happy mood now that they're almost fully disconnected from Bowser. It seemed like times have really changed for the people of this land he thought, and that if this goes in favour of the crown, people will all be going back to living normal lives again down in the south.

"These races are getting old followers of Bowser carried away and distracted. It's like those others don't care for him anymore." Tom whispered to Enrique, both of them looking up at the broomstick and the small cloud.

"They've given up; they don't want to fight a losing battle and will have already submitted themselves to the crown." Enrique replied. The remaining seven noticed a large group of Toad Brigade members marching towards the tent.

"Bowser Junior, it's time for you to go back to your castle." Having noticed Bowser left without him, the Brigade took Junior who turned himself in, putting him into a van and driving off in a matter of seconds. The two humans took it the other Koopas had surrendered to the crown, for they weren't escorted away either.

"That's really upsetting to see." Hammer Bro exhaled. "But what can we do about it."

"What's happened to the Koopa Kids?" Fire Bro pointed out. "Why haven't they been spotted by the Toads yet?"

"I think they got sent to Wuhu by Bowser, I can't remember why, but it seems like they're better off there than having to stay trapped in the castle." Tom mentioned, recalling an old memory between him and Bowser discussing it about a week ago.

"Imagine if they raced." Enrique added. "They'd make sure Bowser would win."

"I guess that's why they weren't allowed." Tom thought. The remaining six watched the rest of the Toad managers disassemble the tent and evacuate the site. Everyone else had left by now and in a matter of a few more minutes, the place looked completely abandoned. The track lights and item boxes were switched off, the screens were off, the stands were empty and there was nobody else in sight.

"How did you two get here?" Paratroopa decided to start a conversation after the long period of silence that was watching the place get disassembled.

"Bowser." Enrique replied, noticing that they had no form of transport to get back to where they used to be.

"Well I think there's some space in my van, maybe we could give you two boys a lift to wherever you're going?" Paratroopa said again, slowly beginning to walk back to the patch of green where the spectators' parked cars used to be. Only one van remained in the field.

"It's cool, we'll be alright." Tom stated. "We don't really know where we're going."

"Alright then." Paratroopa said awkwardly. "I guess we'll see you in two days time. Bye for now." He waved back at the two who hadn't moved at all since the end of the race.

"Good luck for next race!" Fire Bro cheered, just before getting into the back seats of the van. Tom and Enrique both watched the van reverse out of the space and head off southwards into the horizon. It was only about two in the afternoon after all that time. Tom now struggled as to find something to do. As he was thinking he noticed Enrique disappeared from being next to him. He turned round to see him walking around the edge of the track.

"Where are you going?" Tom asked.

"North." Enrique replied.

"What for, how far north?"

"North north, I'm going to visit an old friend. What are you going to do?" He looked back at Tom whilst walking. Tom turned his head back to face south and peered into the distance.

"Probably gonna fuck around with the princesses again." The two both laughed whilst distancing each other.

"Well, I'll see you at Mushroom Bridge." Tom watched Enrique head off out of the valley from the other side, towards the nearest train station. He then looked back south and began trekking his way towards the town of Resarh. Unfortunately, Resarh did not have a train station, for it was more of a village than a town. The next thing for him to do there was find directions to the nearest town with a station: Trent.

 **EOC: Longest chapter aside chapter 10. At the end of every race there will be both a roster showing the results of the current race and a roster showing the total points, so you can all see the rankings as the story and races go along.**

 **See you soon!**


	14. Hostiles

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 14 – Hostiles

 **A/N: If there is anything you're confused about or unsure of, feel free to check my bio for lore and guidance to some factors of the fanfic. If that doesn't help, feel free to PM me.**

 **Also if you have an account on here, please go and answer my poll on my profile, would be much appreciated.**

 **Disclaimer: OCs are mine, Canons are Nintendo's, you can figure out which is which.**

 **January 17, 2015 (1) – 3:20PM**

 **Urscan, Résethal**

The skyline up north was far clearer than the busy cities like Mushroom City. The composition of Urscan in 2015 was mainly composed of shops and work centres, for most residents of the north have moved out into the smaller settlements or set up new ones for their own. Many Koopa families who weren't part of the hostile force tended to set up their own for their family name. It had been several months since Enrique had last properly arrived here without going directly elsewhere. The same pub that Enrique had been in just days ago was directly to his right, but he instead was looking for something else: a certain old friend from years ago.

He thought he saw the familiar face back when he was last at the Powerhouse Peninsula, one of those who held a gun pointing at him really reminded Enrique of him.

"Hey, you there." Enrique called out to a Koopa walking along the sidewalk of the street just outside the train station. "I need to ask you a question."

"Get out of here, human!" The unhelpful Koopa grunted back and walked away from Enrique. He tried to find someone else who might know the whereabouts of the person he's looking for. Fortunately, at this time in the day, the pub should surely be full of people, Enrique thought. He rushed forth and opened up the main doors to see the pub filled with an average amount of people. Some of them turned their heads straight back at Enrique.

"Hey look, it's Enrique, the racer!" One of them called out, making most others turn.

"More like, the loser!" A Koopa in the back added, making some laugh.

"Very funny." He replied back to the Koopa at the back.

"Shouldn't you be down south man? You know, like fucking the princess?" The Koopa at the back didn't seem very sober.

"No, I'm here for something else, I'm looking for someone: an old friend." He announced to the patrons of the pub. "By the name Illias Fonavan."

"You don't have any friends Enrique, only that cunt Tom-boy." The drunken Koopa disrespected the blonde human, who began to walk further into the pub towards the drunkard.

"Sorry I didn't get that last bit, would you like to repeat what you just said?" Enrique looked down at the drunkard, who had his face almost buried in the table he was sitting next to.

"I said, you... have no friends... but that cunt called Tom." Enrique quickly grabbed the Koopa by the neck and restrained him to the table. "You're quite the feisty one, boyo." The drunkard half-reacted to Enrique's quick and forceful movements, not feeling any pain after being rang by the neck.

"Someone give me answers, or I'll knock this guy out." Enrique threatened the patrons, though they did not seem impacted at all.

"I don't even know that guy." Another Koopa in the pub stated. "Feel free to strangle."

"I... do know where... Illias is." The drunk tried to lift his head from the table whist being restrained by Enrique.

"Where is he?" He asked once again, holding his neck slightly looser.

"He's..." The drunk chirped. "Up yours, ha-ha!" Enrique looked back at the crowd of patrons, watching the restrained drunk on the verge of having his neck broken.

"Don't be a southern coward Enrique, do it!" A few patrons demanded. Enrique quickly snapped the neck of the drunk, and pushed his body on to the floor. Even the bartender was watching and soon basking at the corpse.

"Get the body outta here!" The bartender cheered, and after a few minutes some of the local regulars of the pub disposed of the corpse tediously. "Can I get you something Mister Enrique?" The bartender asked him.

"Just water, don't intend on being here for long." He replied.

"No water, only ale." The bartender groaned back at him. Enrique frowned and searched for the restrooms of the pub.

"Useless." Enrique complained as he walked to his right, hoping to find the restrooms down stairs in the basement of the pub.

"Not our fault, we can't get clean water here!" The bartender yelled from the bar.

As Enrique searched the lower rooms of the pub he came across a lot of crates and boxes. Most of the area beneath the pub was storage rooms. Thankfully he spotted a sign indicating the toilets, though there was only one door leading to them. There were only cubicles in the restroom as well. No sort of urinals for the males. But that made Enrique wonder how they did it anyway.

The room was empty, but with multiple vacant cubicles. They seemed to resemble the ones back on Earth with locks and everything. Koopas did too care about privacy. After Enrique had flushed the toilet after using it, he went to wash his hands, where he saw another Koopa doing the same thing.

"Enrique, still don't know where your f-friend is?" The Dark shelled, pale Koopa assumed, drying his hands after washing them. The Koopa had not come into the room to use the toilet but only to merely wash his hands.

"You're correct on that one, I suppose you're not one to help me on that either." Enrique replied in a rather dull tone. The Koopa looked back to the entrance of the toilets and closed the door firmly.

"Your friend Illias is a hostile. Many of those people up there are hostile and many people up there don't know they are either. That's how it is in the north anyway; they don't care if people get murdered." The Koopa responded. "The name's Dirrug by the way." The Koopa offered a handshake.

Enrique shook back cheerfully. "And that drunk, was he hostile? Is there a way of knowing who is and who isn't hostile?"

"That Koopa wasn't clearly; just a loaner barfly." Dirrug replied. "People don't just become hostile... which actually means I take what I previously said back because I guess with that logic some people could be hostile without others knowing it. I guess it becomes noticeable with their actions."

"And are you hostile?" Dirrug stood silently for a short moment.

"Well, I'm against the crown which is something." He then became looking anxious and nervous at Enrique, staring right at him. "But I know where Illias could be."

"Well I didn't come up here to kill hostiles. That's not my job." He said back to Dirrug, who started to look scared of him, now realising what he looked like. "Take me to where Illias is, and let's hope we don't have another fiasco like with that drunk."

"Right..." The scared Koopa turned around to head slowly towards the door out of the toilets.

"I'll take that knife of yours too." Enrique spotted, peeking out of Dirrug's shell. "Just for safety purposes. I hope you hostiles will be safe with me." Dirrug's hands began to shiver, his body suffering from fright of the human behind him.

"Yes... I suppose you should." Dirrug shuffled to drop the knife from his shell; it fell quickly onto the floor. The dull blade was quickly taken into the grasp of Enrique's hands, and then straight into his right trouser pocket. The Koopa opened the door leading out back to the stairs. The pub still seemed rather crowded upstairs. But the sky had turned dark with clouds. It was raining outside. Dirrug still looked nervous as he was escorting Enrique up the stairs and out of the pub, being cheered on by many Koopas inside for finally being someone to help Enrique find his long lost friend. The two followed round a corner along the main road to an area of parked cars where Dirrug's one was dormant. He told Enrique to get into the front passenger seat of the car and Dirrug attempted to get out of his parking space. The car switched on normally but Enrique began to notice the shivering was still going on in the Koopa's body, meaning his legs were constantly shaking as well. The car began to shake a bit as the clutch was not being released properly. Everything else seemed fine.

"Are you alright?" Enrique asked Dirrug. "You don't seem fit to drive with those nerves."

"I assure you mister I am ok with d-driving." He stuttered as he tried to calm himself down. "Just, never really seen a human before." The pale Koopa turned the vehicle back on again after stalling in the parking space... only to stall again.

"Alright listen you're not fit to drive." Enrique took his seatbelt off and quickly got out of the car, he rushed around to the other side next to Dirrug where he was still in the driver's seat.

"Yes my lord, I mean Enrique, I'm sorry, fucking bitch, I mean sorry. Excuse my language. You drive." Dirrug quickly got out of the car, still shivering and heading over to the passenger seat of the car. "Are you sure you can drive?" Enrique sat in the driver's seat looking completely mystified as Dirrug arrived. He couldn't stop shivering at the human next to him.

"Of course I can drive. I've been racing." He was still baffled at how Dirrug couldn't control himself. "You don't seem good."

"No it's ok, I just have these ep-piss-odes sometimes, something to do with me since I was a k-kid." It took a while for Enrique to realise what's wrong with the Koopa. "Fucking hell, ignore what I say." Enrique took a deep breath, feeling completely humiliated being in the presence of such a low Koopa.

"Where is Illias then, at least answer me that."

"He's... he's near Vurduresa. Small town near there, go to Vurduresa first."

"Are you sure?" Enrique questioned boldly. "I am not supposed to ignore this, yes?" His long blonde hair began to soak the seat of the car, disturbing Dirrug creating a distressed look on his face.

"Aww I just cleaned the interior yesterday."

"I said are you sure?" Enrique raised his voice, frightening Dirrug once more.

"Yes, Yes! Vurduresa! Drive now!" Dirrug pointed the directions as Enrique eventually sped off. "Get out of this town first and onto the roads, they are usually empty here." The two quickly hit the streets, reaching to vast speeds along the flat roads heading north-westwards. Dirrug began to shiver less, calming down now that he got Enrique to drive and kill some time. He was expecting small-talk from the guy any time soon.

"So, why'd you have the knife then?" Enrique asked eventually whilst driving, still having the weapon in one of his pockets.

"I use it for self-defence, that's not a lie." Dirrug replied, constantly looking out of the window seeing the views he had already seen.

"A knife, for self-defence... and how often do you witness crime?" Enrique laughed. "From what I can gather it looks like you wouldn't hurt a fly."

"N-no, you shut up bitch. I mean no I would, I mean, if necessary, excuse me." Dirrug panicked again.

"You're one to shiver a lot, you were nervous when we were back in Urscan. You stuttered too, don't lie to me, you haven't witnessed violence."

"I have witnessed loads, just nothing that has affected me, from where I come from everyone is usually safe and our town has a low rate of crime."

"So you're telling me you're one of the bad ones from your town?"

"That's not what the people think, if you know what I mean." Enrique looked back at Dirrug, knowing the Koopa did have a pretty cunning mindset, despite his conditions. The two eventually arrived to a signpost, indicating Vurduresa to the right and Castelia to the left, along with smaller signs of many smaller towns.

"So which town is it we're going to?" The two looked at the signs.

Dirrug pointed slowly. "Zurlon." He said, pointing at the bottom sign on the right side. "It's beyond Vurduresa, so you may have to drive through it."

"Zurlon eh? I wonder how all these names came around to be, they don't sound like the names I would've thought the north to be, and certainly not like most of the places down south. You get places called Sunshine Airport and Moo Moo Meadows... sounds so jolly and irregular yet all these other places sound so dull." Dirrug looked back at Enrique confused.

"There're a lot of towns in the south with 'dull' names as well, only important places have shit I mean fancy names." Enrique drove the car off again, accelerating quickly onto the flat tarmac paved road. All the two could see to their left and right were tall trees and grass, nothing else except the odd occasion of a small diversion leading to potentially a small town. It seemed like this part of Résethal was literally just a forest engulfing the several small towns. The road became a straight, with no turns, just a flat out road now heading straight to Vurduresa, no elevation on the road either.

"I can barely remember what Vurduresa looked like; when I was there a week ago I only patrolled the centre where all the violence was. Would it be safe for me?" Enrique asked Dirrug, hoping he would know of the situation of humans in the north.

"They shouldn't care about you; I think many of the hostiles here know that you're not fully loyal to the crown." He replied, noticing the road signs to Vurduresa and distant buildings. The place was properly shattered as the two drove by. All of the buildings looked worn and uninhabitable, it seemed like nothing had improved in the entire course of five Earth years here.

"This place still looks like a disaster, why do people live here?" He asked Dirrug again.

"We don't, Vurduresa is just a meet point, and nobody really lives here anymore. It still has facilities like fresh water supplies and power stations, and a train station." The Koopa replied, looking at the broken windows. The road became elevated and worn, filled with junctions and turns. Enrique slowed the two of them down and adjusted to the new scenery. Koopas filled the pavements and quiet roads, Enrique gathered that it was only Koopas that inhabited the northern lands. He couldn't see any other species, not even Goombas.

"How do we get out of here to go to Zurlon?"

Dirrug pointed the bird's-eye direction to the town. "Take a right at the end of this road, and follow around to the northern exit." He directed. Enrique could count only five other cars in his vicinity, but he noticed a large amount of recreational bikes. He even spotted a vintage Nitrocycle parked outside what looked like a house, but being told that nobody really lives here anymore. He thought it could be something else.

After a few more minutes of travelling slowly and being noticed by many Koopas, unknown to be hostile or not, the two set off and sped through the flat roads northward.

"So tell me Dirrug, how did you come to know Illias?" Enrique asked, seeking more information. "How do you and him connect to the whole hostile system?"

"Well, I've known of him for ages, but I wouldn't say we are friends. You just need to know that he is considered hostile." Dirrug replied. "But don't let this deter you, he should be fine if you actually know him and he knows you back. Fuck off he'll kill you. Sorry." Enrique sighed, slowing the vehicle slightly.

"I feel so bad for you." Enrique said bluntly.

"Why?"

"Nevermind."

 **Zurlon, North Résethal**

 **7:30PM**

"Just stop the car there." Dirrug ordered as the two arrived at the small, empty-looking town. The place looked no bigger than that of Isle Port, which only spanned of two roads in a T shape. Enrique counted about seven houses and several tents. He hoped Illias would be lurking around somewhere here this evening. Enrique gave Dirrug the keys to the car and got out quickly, letting the Koopa sort the rest of the car out. After a few moments the two met up in front of the parked car to see another empty-looking town.

"I think he's inside the great hall through there." Dirrug pointed out, warning Enrique to stay by the car. As Dirrug slowly approached the main entrance he spotted light emerging from the inside and the doors opening. Both Dirrug and Enrique could see a small band of armed Koopas walk outside, muttering amongst themselves. They both tried to distinguish Illias from the band, hoping he was one of them, though Enrique had forgotten what he had looked like.

He jumped after hearing Dirrug yell and wave to the bulkiest Koopa in the middle of the group. "Hey, hey, Illias! I got a friend here for you." The group of Koopas spotted Enrique, resting against the car.

"He's a southerner!" One of the Koopas yelled, pointing a gun to him.

"No, put your gun down, he's not one of theirs." Illias put the gun down and slowly approached Enrique. "Are you purposely losing?" He joked, taunting Enrique about the races.

"I don't think we'd make any difference, we're just bandwagon-ing." Enrique walked over to greet.

"It's been years, hasn't it, it's like you disappeared all those years ago."

"I came back occasionally, but I wasn't as explorative as Tom was, you remember that guy?"

"The other human boy right?"

"Yeah, he's the one who is more southerny. But still, don't harm him. He won't do any harm." Illias moved back and introduced Enrique to the rest of the Koopas. Dirrug anxiously stood outside the circle of Koopas, unsure of what to do next.

"I think we need to delay this... mission until later in the evening." Illias alerted to his fellow Koopas, and let the group inside. Dirrug slowly followed in just before the doors closed.

"So what have you done all this time my friend?" Illias sat down next to a fire, with Enrique sitting opposite.

"Well." Enrique began to lecture. "It's hard to explain really, I've spent some of it down south. I got to know these two kids from the north more; those ones who sort out the Powerhouse. Now everyone says they're missing."

"Well they are missing if you ask me." Illias replied. "Never seen them since 2010 really."

"As a matter of fact I spotted both of them only just days ago." Enrique stated. "Just before the first race we spotted them in a spectating stand, it was the one filled with the least people as well. We both saw them, and they saw us, only then to quickly disappear after the race so we couldn't catch them." The other Koopas listened in, wondering more about those two odd kids.

"I remember that day when we went to the Powerhouse, you were with us too, and we just saw them vanish in front of our own eyes." A Koopa with a rather deep voice and to the left of Illias added. "Oh, my name's Johan, Johan Rundol."

"Well, I've seen them over the years; they have come here often, just in hiding. I watched them grow from children into teenagers." Enrique carried on. "Tom used to see them nearly every day. As for me, I've just had Earth errands to do, perhaps one day I will say my goodbyes here and live here forever."

"Well I've heard about how time works there, those people don't live long enough to understand the true things in life." Illias mentioned.

"And what have you done in all this time here. I would've expected lots to happen in the five or so earth years here."

"We've watched Bowser weaken, we've watched Koopas join our forces, and a one government system emerge in the south. We educated ourselves, and it seems like in these past weeks you've come at the right time."

"So then." Enrique began again. "About this whole, hostile business. What's the goal at the end of the day here?" Some of the Koopas in the room began to reach out for their weapons. "I don't care about what's going to happen with you guys and the south, I clearly have many more things to deal with such as being locked in these races." The Koopas put their weapons down.

"This is our life for now, whatever it is we do will benefit us more than anyone else." Johan added. "Anyone who disagrees can put up with the consequences."

"Nobody abides to the laws in the south; they make us slaves to the crown. Haven't you seen how boring it is to be a Toad? And it's only just the same to be loyal to that Bowser." Illias stated. "You humans have it lucky; no rules apply to you wherever you go."

"Well I wouldn't say that's a good thing, you can have it all without asking for it and everyone who hasn't tried to put you down for it." Illias tapped his seat twice, ordering all of the other Koopas to leave the room, now the two friends were the only ones around the campfire.

"You know that as soon as you stand beyond those mountains your life becomes at risk, I don't trust everybody in this building, and I can't guarantee your safety, how are you going to get through the night here?" Illias whispered, hoping nobody outside would hear in. He had expected there to be at least two of his men standing outside peeking through the keyhole or putting their ears to the wall.

"Don't worry about me, I have a way out of this and you wouldn't suspect a thing. Trust me on this one." Enrique laughed.

"You keep yourself safe, I don't want to seem soft around these guys either, and they crave for violence."

"As a matter of fact I took one out myself back in Urscan earlier this afternoon."

"You murdered someone?" Illias gasped.

"He deserved it, drunk out of his head and only a major disturbance to me when looking for you; it was after that I eventually found out about Dirrug, who then helped me here."

"Dirrug?"

"Yeah, you know him right? Pale one."

"Never heard of the guy, why do you expect me to know him?"

"He said he knew of you, and said he talked to you before." Illias still looked lost. "He's the one with the weird speaking problems." He widened his eyes.

"Oh that guy, the annoying one."

"Yeah him, the annoying one." Enrique went on with him to help. "He's a really nervous kid, but he helped me drive up to this town where you happened to be."

"I guess that's good on him. Listen mate there's too many people around these lands and I can't remember all the names, we all look so similar. I don't even know the name of one of the men I was walking outside with, there's Johan, Verida, Nikola and Koopreme, but can't remember the other guy."

"I get it Illias it's difficult." Enrique calmed. "What I would like to know is... what 'mission' were you going to do?"

"I'll be completely honest with you, we we're going to raid Vurduresa, get some resources and water. Ever since those attacks caused by the Dargovi the place has been a site for all eyes. The destroyed buildings still have plenty of surprises in them."

"Dargovi, people of Dargo, are those guys on the same side as you?" Enrique asked, perhaps he could find out some potentially useful information that he could happen to slide into the friends in the south to help them instead.

"Well actually, according to the south we are all one, but there are actually many different groups of hostiles who are either allies or enemies with eachother. We in the local towns here are the Takharim." Illias began going in to further detail, making Enrique unsure on what to do with such possibly useful information. "There are many groups, like tribes, but I don't want to go in depth to that. That's classified." Bummer, Enrique thought in his mind.

Illias slapped the arm rest of his seat again alerting the other Koopas to come back inside.

"Brothers and sisters, it's time to go." Illias announced, slowly getting up and offering a handshake to Enrique. "Honestly if I had more time I would talk to you about what you need to know, but we seriously have to go."

"One more thing." Enrique got up and asked. "Have you seen Bethel Koopa around?"

"The big old guy?" Illias thought. "Not heard about him for ages, I heard he was at the Wuhu incident though, I fear for his life if you ask me." The Koopa got up and led the others outside, Enrique followed shortly afterwards. He watched all of the Koopas heavily arm themselves; these Koopas didn't seem like the typical ones he had seen down south. All the hostile Résethal Koopas look ethnically different; paler and broader. "I'm gonna let you sort out your own way of sleeping, we won't return till well after the moon's in the sky. They say it's good luck if you spot a galaxy eclipse on the moon." He concluded as he headed off with his band of hostiles.

"They say you get even more luck if you destroy a galaxy. Heh-heh." Enrique turned back and headed into the building. Enrique became rather interested in the day system in this world, he had noticed the sky was pitch black in what felt like a summer month, and it was only 8:00PM, Though he did remember that sunrise would usually be around 5:30AM. As he went inside he checked his phone, to see the exact time being 8:27. Now in order to return safely in the morning he thought to warp back to Earth again to skip time, letting 10 hours pass in Muhu Delfethal. "Ten hours is... two and a half minutes." He said in his mind, quickly warping back to Earth again...

 **Peach's Castle, Mushroom City**

 **8:30PM**

After a long-winded and strenuous journey back home, Peach separated the rest of her escorted friends from herself as she locked herself inside her castle. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to get rid of Daisy, all Peach wanted to do was go to sleep and seek out another dream. By the time Peach rushed up the stairs of her castle to her bedroom she could hear similar sounds of rushing feet, that being Daisy. The two were still in their biker outfits; Peach was hoping to get changed as soon as possible into her bedroom gown.

"Peach, don't worry about today, don't worry about anything!" Daisy called from across the hallway.

"I'm not worried, I just want peace." Peach closed her bedroom door in front of Daisy as she stopped running. "Leave me be, you should be glad I didn't do a Mario on you." Slightly annoying her.

"You set these races; you have to deal with them if that's what's bothering you."

"Go and get changed, then come inside." Daisy heard Peach's footsteps becoming quieter as she walked further into her room to get changed. The other princess then decided to change as quickly as possible, she couldn't stop being so protective for her best friend, even in times where she felt like she wasn't her friend.

TWO MINUTES LATER...

Daisy knocked onto Peach's bedroom door and then realised that the door was never locked. She opened the door slightly and crept slowly inside, spotting Peach lying on her bed, staring up to the ceiling and looking lifeless.

"Do you... regret making Bowser choose this tournament? Does it feel too long for you?" Daisy asked, walking towards the bedside table closest to her best friend.

"No, no regrets." Peach replied. "It had to happen. It's what's got to be."

"This Peach seems different even to the Peach from a few days ago. You keep changing every day, you're become more... woke? Is that the word used on Earth?"

"Daisy." Peach gestured to make Daisy peer in closer. "Something's happening, these dreams I'm having have to have a meaning. I need to find Zane again, but there's no time."

"You have to bring Zane to us somehow."

"I will ask him if I see him again." Peach looked back up to the ceiling. "I feel as if there's so much in my mind that I need to know but it's stored in a way I cannot comprehend. I'm sorry for today, we can't win every race, and there are also so many more races to make a difference. We really don't need to worry about that for now."

"As I said before, no matter what I will always be here for you."

"I'm glad I've had you for all these years Daisy." She blushed and smiled back at her queen. "You need to accept my changes. It's my adaptation into becoming who I was always meant to be. I was never supposed to be a silly damsel in distress to always be kidnapped by Bowser. He always delayed the inevitable; it's as if he was actually doing the right thing. Now that he's no longer in the way, I must accept what is new and move with it." Daisy found it difficult to comprehend what Peach was saying now. "What I'm saying is, now that I'm a queen as opposed to a princess, now that I'm rightfully acting upon my birthright, everything has changed, and I have far more serious things to deal with. I've even had to give up on Mario."

"You do what you have to do. You will rule this land like it was meant to in the years before."

"But that's not enough, Daisy, not everyone is living in harmony, and the years before saw a united north and south under one rule, from what I've learned it seems impossible to bring righteousness to the Koopas of the north."

"What is it you have to do then, to bring the two sides together again."

"I don't know." Peach said bluntly. "There's the problem... and aside that, there's plenty more problems to deal with."

"Problems being Zane, Marrec, and those dreams of yours?"

"There's going to be more of that in the future, they're coming. The voices in my dreams, they are coming, I don't know when, but they are coming."

"You shouldn't fear the change, embrace it, and let it fill your heart with will to make change yourself. The people surely seem protected for now. Let the races deal with that, everyone's engrossed in those it's like you've already controlled the people."

"Just like what they want to do on Earth." She said quietly.

"When you ever think that there'd be no other rivals once you rule these lands, they will be your new rivals. It's like you're ruling the Mushroom Kingdom alone and dealing with other rulers of the other Kingdoms. Whether it be new life beyond the seas, up in space or even in different realms and dimensions, there will always be someone or something else out there for you to beat." Daisy's wise words shook Peach out of her lifeless, lazy position on the bed.

"This is thrilling me Daisy, I'm sorry I ever doubted you." Daisy smiled and gave Peach a big hug on her bed. "In the morning I will come straight to you and tell you everything about what I can remember." She really hoped she would have another 'nightmare' as she knew it would be one and now it would only help her.

"You do that indeed, I will be on all ears for you." Daisy replied. "You get to sleep now; I will see you in the morning." She waved to Peach before going through the door of the bedroom. Peach shuffled over to the other side of her bed where she pressed a button to make an announcement.

"Lights out, tonight's an early night for me." She then slid back into her bed and tried to sleep as quickly as possible, though having the desire to fall into deep sleep quickly would only make it take longer. It caused her to move about a lot and sweat unnecessarily as well, making her more exhausted and unable to sleep.

...

After eventually being able to fall into deep sleep, Peach woke up in her bed, still normal but looking like she never had such a dream that she desired. She looked around and noticed her bedroom still looked intact and realistic, though after a few minutes she felt a wet patch further down the bed. She widened her eyes in fear and quickly unravelled her bed covers, revealing a bloody patch on the mattress. It caused her to scream with sadness and rage at the same time. She had all of a sudden felt several different emotions at once. The few seconds of screaming eventually led to a transformation of her surroundings, the bedroom began to darken and eventually disappear. The bloody mark on the bed filled Peach's thoughts with fear and upset, preparing her badly for the shadows that appeared around her. Eventually, it became all purple and foggy again. Peach jumped up from her bed but was quickly brought back. She only felt it now that her leg was cuffed to the trees behind her bed. The fall made her bury her face into her bed, the grim environment put mind into a tired state, as she raised her head back up she spotted Zane, still cuffed to a tree as well, and mouthless.

"Zane!" Peach called out. "Look at me!" There was no response from the man; he looked completely vegetative and inattentive. "Zane?" She called out again. She grew furious from not being able to move around this time. The area separating the two eventually began to widen and she began to hallucinate whilst staring at him. When she looked at his face more clearly she noticed Zane's ears were blocked and his eyes were paler, indicating blindness. She had remembered from the night before that Zane's mouth was missing and perhaps he was either blind or deaf, most likely deaf as he still looked at her whilst chained to the trees.

"Show yourself!" Peach called out to the shadows, hoping the same voices she heard from past dreams would appear once again, but nothing happened. What Peach had now seen from the lifeless Zane was absence of hearing, speaking, and seeing. Another thing that confused her was she didn't recall seeing Zane two nights ago, or in any of the previous nightmares she had.

Eventually Zane disappeared from her sights, making her fall back onto her bed. Peach moaned and cried at the same time, sulking on the bed. "What do you want from me..."She whined.

"I want your soul..." She finally heard a voice after enduring all the suffering. Soon enough the landscape blurred away and morphed back into her bedroom, this time it looked like morning. Peach was still unsure if she was in some sort of dream or not, but nothing seemed to spook her out anymore, except for the still present stain of blood on her bed. She couldn't afford anyone to see it, but at some point during the day the Toad cleaners would come into the room and make the bed for her... or even worse, Daisy could enter the room at any minute and notice it. She guessed she would have to accept somebody eventually finding it out unless she burns the mattress, since it leaked through the blanket. The worry she endured the most was whether or not the blood was actually real or an illusion. Peach felt distorted, feeling unwell inside. She went over to her bedside table clock to check the time, 7:00AM. The window view showed another bright morning, with an absence of clouds in the sky. She could already feel the humidity of the weather from the opened windows. This one was going to be a staunching day.

Suddenly she heard a knock on her doors, Daisy was outside.

"Don't come in yet!" Peach gasped, rushing back to her bed, thinking of a way to dispose of the mattress. For now she simply pulled the covers over and made the bed herself. She quickly ran over to the door and opened it up for Daisy.

"How did it go last night?" She asked, still in her gown as well.

"Terrible if you ask me, I didn't really learn much either." Peach was wondering whether it was safe or not for her to share the secret of the duvet to her best friend, hoping she wouldn't tell anyone else. "I saw Zane again, but he was completely unresponsive, deaf, blind and mute. But that's not the worst part."

"What happened?" Daisy grabbed Peach's wrist firmly, looking straight into her eyes.

"The voices, it said... I want your soul, and then I woke up... w-with this." Peach turned her head back to the bed, rushing over and unravelling the covers, revealing the bloodied mattress. Daisy gasped and gulped, walking slowly over to the bed.

"Peach... How did this happen?" Daisy smelled the blood, it smelled just like the smell she expected it to be. "You haven't had it with any of the humans, right?"

"No, I've never ever decided to go that far with even Enrique. I don't know how it happened."

"It would be so unlike you for this to happen, if you wanted one then you would've told me as well in advance."

Peach walked over to the other side of the bed, with the bedside table containing the notebook inside one of the drawers. She took it out and grabbed her pen and filled in some lines with new words. "There is one thing though." She said whilst writing. "I woke up in the dream with the same bloodspot. So I don't know if this is real or not, but you definitely see it too right?" She wanted to be sure.

"Of course, but that's not a good thing regardless."

The two stood by the bed wondering what to do with it. Daisy walked back to the doors and sealed them shut.

"Nobody is to see this." Peach warned Daisy. "And you tell nobody about this, not even Luigi, or Tom, or anybody."

Daisy looked back at the blood in disgust. "I've seen magic before, but this, this is some corrupt shit right here. Flip the mattress over."

"My mattress is huge!" Peach reminded, attracting attention with her hands showing the size of her bed. The largest any had seen in this land suited for the princess-now-queen.

"We'll have to put a sign on the doors saying nobody to enter, including the workers and cleaners. If you want any services delivered then have them leave it outside the room."

"Let's go to my quarters." Peach ordered. The quarters, with all the maps and battle plans, was located on the other end of the floor. The Toad workers had fully refurbished the place during the first two races and made it properly usable again. Peach took a blank piece of paper and with her pen she wrote down a message to put onto her bedroom door, so that the Toad cleaners wouldn't go into her room for the day.

 **January 18, 2015 (1) – 6:27AM**

 **Zurlon, North Résethal**

Johan lay asleep in a hammock inside one of the smaller rooms of the main building. Only a few metres from where he was, a small bright flash appeared instantly, the bright sparks created a white inlaid human shadow which eventually formed Enrique. The sound of the portal quietened and Enrique spotted the sleeping Koopa. He was lying facing the wall next to the hammock, but Enrique noticed Johan's small gestures indicating he was about to wake up. Enrique quickly and quietly headed out of the room. Johan's body rolled over to face the door on the other side of the room where Enrique had quickly exited from. While Enrique was in the main room trying to figure out something to do at the time, Johan's shadow emerged from the room he was in, eventually revealing himself to Enrique.

"What are you doing up this early?" Johan asked, yawning straight after. The two were the only ones in the kitchen at this time; everyone else in the building was still asleep, including Illias.

"I've been up for a while, just waiting for others." He replied, looking at the partially functioning oven.

"What are those things?" Johan pointed to a food packet in Enrique's hand. "Patatina." Johan was able to understand the text on the packet. Enrique had taken some branded potato chips from a shop on Earth during the night. "Ku i keni marrë ato?"

"Nga shtëpia ime e vërtetë." Enrique replied, he opened up the packet and took out a chip for Johan. "Try some?" He offered. Johan took the chip from his hand and quickly devoured it, swallowing it almost whole and seeming amazed at the taste.

"It is very good." His response led to a short period of silence by the kitchen worktop. "How did you learn the old language?" He asked.

"I... just happen to know it... I learnt it over time." Enrique decided to walk outside of the building to look at the view of the town on a bright morning like today. Johan followed onward. The two looked up and saw small bunches of clouds; the rain had ended sometime during the night meaning the floor was still damp. Enrique peered to his right where he had parked the car from yesterday and noticed it had disappeared. Dirrug must have taken it elsewhere last night Enrique assumed as he felt left out from the rest of the Koopas. With Illias not knowing the Koopa Enrique wasn't sure how friendships and relationships worked around here.

"So what are you going to do today then? It's quite a trek back down south if you want to attend the next race. I assume it's there, I've forgotten which one is next." Johan wondered.

"I've forgotten as well." Enrique said, still looking up to the sky. "What I need to do is find someone down south who's also racing. They will know what and where the next race is."

"I suppose you're going to do better in these next races?" Johan asked again, trying to build a friendship bond with the new human he's met with.

"Well I do hope so; it would nice to be out of last place." Whilst the two were looking at the sky outside another Koopa had come out of the main building.

"Johan, boss wants you." A female voice of a Koopa called out from behind them. The two turned around to see Verida Ichoga, a slim red-shelled Koopa with outstanding eyelashes. Enrique gathered that she was a bad sort of girl, based from her deep-sounding voice.

"What does he want?" Johan asked Verida back, who didn't give an answer and instead looked towards Enrique, who was also staring at her.

"Just come inside, you human stay outside." Verida ordered Johan to move forward, rushing back through the doors.

"I'll see you later then Johan." Enrique cheered, hoping for a response back. All he saw was the last look of Verida, glaring at him before she closed the doors in front of him.

Johan headed up the stairs of the building towards the third and highest floor, where the bedrooms of Illias and Nikola were located. The group met all together in Illias' dormitory. As he arrived he noticed every other Koopa band member inside the room except for Verida who was just behind him.

"Nice to see you Johan." Illias greeted. "How is our friend Enrique doing?" He asked. Most of the other Koopas were situated in a circle around Johan, waiting for what he was going to say.

"Friend." Verida smirked by the doorway, growling in response.

"He seems like quite the err... benign one. Nice company and small talk." Johan smiled, giving a good impression of the human to the others.

"That's good to hear." Illias replied. "But we still have a problem, I feel as if I have exposed too much information to him last night and I cannot risk him telling southerners. We have to remember everyone in the south thinks we are too dangerous to tame and handle. This has come to my conclusion that we should watch Enrique throughout today and bring him back south for his race in Mushroom Bridge, where he will have a more reluctant mindset and more likely not to say anything about us when he gets back. We shall have him stay the day at our town."

"He had this really delicious food earlier this morning, just so you know." Johan brought up, though not really necessary for the Koopas.

"That doesn't mean your friend is safe to us, idiot." Verida threatened Johan, who looked back with a frown.

"Calm down Verida, I've heard about this guy, he craves for the thrill of being evil. He's a bit like old Marrec." Nikola mentioned, trying to show a good impression of the man.

"We won't need much for today, so just see what he's up to, just don't let him leave." Illias ordered. "And Koopreme, and... Malkar." Illias struggled to remember the last Koopa's name.

"Malcolm." The Koopa corrected.

"I want you two to go back to Urscan and hunt that Dirrug guy; he's a pale Koopa with a black shell, rather short as well and has a speaking problem. You need to bring him back here for me."

"Yes Illias." Koopreme nodded.

"Now go, take the car round the back." Illias sent the first two Koopas out of the room. He still sat on his bed with Johan, Nikola and Verida still in the room, all awaiting orders. "Verida, trust me here, he is a good man. I just want to be safe."

"If you want to be safe then you should torture the man, he has to stay alive for the races so that's the best way to make him silenced." Verida suggested. Nikola looked back at Illias in agreement, insisting on using Verida's idea.

"I can't do that to him of all people, not him." Illias finalised. "Now leave me, I need some more sleep." The head Koopa got up and led the other three out of his bedroom, quickly closing the door and slouching his way back towards his bed to sleep some more...

 **EOC: I'm getting to a point where I will soon be running out of spare chapters to upload. I will try to increase the amount done over time so I can keep a steady rate of chapters released. Any messages will indeed encourage me to write more and faster. Be sure to check out the profile with the Lore book and any more questions please send a message or write a review.**

 **See you soon!**


	15. Wario and Waluigi

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 15 – Wario and Waluigi

 **A/N: To see the teams and their karts, see the beginning of Chapter 7. Results of the first and second races can be found in Chapters 11 and 13 respectively.**

 **Also please do take the time to vote on my profile page on the poll. The votes are highly appreciated.**

 **January 18, 2015 (1) – 8:15AM**

 **Zurlon, North Résethal**

"Johan? Johan?"

...

"Where's my rifle?" The shell-less Illias frightened the Koopa in the kitchen, working on his breakfast. "It's been stolen!" He yelled, running around the room in anger.

"Your rifle? I don't know. Where did you last put it?" Johan asked whilst putting his almost ready meal into the microwave.

"It always stays in that same compartment in my bedroom, but it's been stolen!" Illias looked furious, kicking the chairs to relieve his anger. "One of ours has nicked it from me. It was last seen there after the raid." Illias tried to get out some food and put it into the oven to be cooked, but it didn't seem to be working. "Why's the oven not working?" He asked Johan.

"I don't know why the oven's not working; maybe the wires there have a problem. What about that Enrique man, maybe he did it." Johan suggested, slowly taking out his meal.

"No, he hasn't been upstairs and wouldn't know of there being a rifle there. It's definitely one of ours. Where is Enrique anyway?"

"He's outside with Nikola and Verida. I think they're playing around with a football." Illias went to look out of the back window to see several Koopas and Enrique standing on a field with a football in play. They sure have distracted Enrique for the morning so far. Illias looked around to see all these other Koopas of the same hostile group, all seeming to be slacking off without weapons, but they were all heavily suited.

"Why are they all out there? Wait why is the ball made of metal?" Illias stared outside to count ten on the pitch with many spectating. Johan rushed over to the window with his food to look out of the window as well.

"They're playing an old favourite type of game." He replied. "The ball is capable of absorbing lots of energy which can be used for special powers."

"Looks like a lot of rubbish to me." Illias' eyes widened in surprise as he watched the ball morph into a sort of grey Koopa shell, heading straight to a goalkeeper and flattening some of the players. A goal was scored soon after and the spectators cheered. The two watched Nikola cheer and jump around for he was the goalscorer. Illias looked around to find Enrique; he was on the other side of the pitch being the goalkeeper for what looked like Nikola's team. "They're playing charged football."

Illias looked straight back at Johan. "Stop the game." He ordered, rushing outside and attempting to do it himself. "Stop the game!" He shouted again, making the players turn their attention towards him before the ball became in play again.

"What's the problem Illias?" Nikola asked. "I was just thrashing Verida's team here 3-0."

"This is a huge waste of electricity. Don't you know how difficult it is to get it here?" Illias told the Koopas off. "Another problem is somebody's gone and nicked my favourite rifle." All of the Koopas in the area looked around at eachother in worry and confusion.

"This is a big problem." Johan added. "Most people don't even know where it usually is let alone go and steal it." He looked at Verida, who was still staring at Illias. The Koopa stood by the pitch and looked around the silent area.

"Nobody's going to own up?" He called out. "Nobody will admit such a crime? You know what happens here when nobody admits to things like this?" He felt the nervousness of the people surrounding him, there was complete silence until a small beckon came from the right side of the pitch.

"I saw him." Verida whispered quietly in direction to Illias.

"Who?"

"The thief, I saw him with my very eyes." Verida turned her head towards Enrique, pointing at him. "He snuck into your room and took it in the middle of the night whilst I was up, and he took it from you." The crowds turned to Enrique, who was shocked at being mentioned.

"How could it have been me? I was back on Earth for the night. And also, where exactly did I go?" The eyes looked back at Verida, who became silent for a few seconds.

Enrique chuckled. "I don't see the point in framing me; we all know it was you because you don't like me."

"I think we're all a little confused here." Nikola butted in, trying to calm the angry looking Illias. "Perhaps your gun was not stolen, more... misplaced." The head Koopa looked at the observing crowd, feeling uncomfortable with their presence.

"Leave us!" He shouted out, forcing them all to leave the pitch centre. Only five remained. The leader then looked back into Nikola's face. "Come closer, boy." The enthusiastic Koopa frolicked over to Illias, looking back up to him. "Tell me, where have you two put it then?" Nikola sighed, and then looked back at Verida. "You've already lied to me once; I suggest you don't do it a second time." Nikola nodded slowly, signalling to Verida.

"Now!" He called, quickly tripping up Illias. Verida sneaked to behind one of the goals and took out what was Illias' rifle. She quickly pointed it to Illias, shocking Johan and Enrique in the process.

"Hands up! All of you!" Nikola jumped around and stood out of the way. Illias, Johan and Enrique all raised their arms and were forced to stay still. "This man doesn't belong here." She points the gun now to Enrique, looking straight back at Verida, though not showing any expression of shock or fear. "He's already heard enough and now he's going down south to tell his leaders everything. You pile of shit you have crossed the line." She then pointed the gun towards Illias.

"Now, he's not like that, remember, he's not going to tell them anything, he's got races to take part in." Illias tried to calm the maddened Verida down.

"Which is why you're worse, you're the idiot who let him here in the first place. I told you torturing would've been the best way to make him forget." She glared, pointing the gun directly at his head.

"I haven't seen you think for yourself to do it to anyone else!" Johan interrupted. "You're as cowardly as the Dirrug kid."

"Shut up you inbred Koopa. Or I'll shoot you first!"

"Inbred Koopa, what does that even mean?" Johan whispered softly with a confused tone.

"WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY?"

"Johan be quiet or she'll go on all three of you." Nikola suggested.

"Easy for you to say when you've got no arms in the air." Johan argued back. "You're such a bystander you're as useless as a legless Goomba, you thick fuck."

"You're not helping anyone out here Nikola." Enrique stated.

"Be quiet Enrique!" Illias yelled.

"Johan's got quite a sack full of slurs. Better watch out."

"ARE YOU ALL FORGETTING THE FACT THAT I CAN SHOOT YOU ALL? AND YOU'LL DIE?" Verida began to scream.

"I'm well aware of that, my arms are still in the air." Enrique joked.

"Ok you Urscani fuck pull the damn trigger then." Illias provoked.

"You're the one I've always wanted to kill anyway!" She screamed one last time before pulling the trigger directly towards Illias' face.

Silence.

Only a light click sound was heard by all of them as Verida attempted to fire at her leader. The gun was empty.

"I'd put that gun down now." Illias charged towards Verida, pushing Nikola aside and tripping her up. He snatched the gun and turned it upside down, grabbing it by the tip and then slapping her in the face with the rest of it. She fell to the floor, covering her bleeding nose. "If you do that kind of thing against me one more time, then there won't be any more getting ups with you. Same goes to you." He pointed the gun towards Nikola, who raised his hands in the air, slowly backing away from Illias. "Plotting against a friend of mine never would've worked. Even if you had a gun to him, you're too stupid to make sure it would be loaded."

Nikola turned his head back to Verida. "This was not what you told me you were going to do." The others looked back at the Koopa, assuming he wasn't directly involved in it. Verida was still silent, but Enrique looked unsure.

"Nah, I'm not taking this. He's trying to get himself out of it." He stated to the others.

"Go inside Enrique." Illias ordered. "Johan you stay here." He gestured an indication to go back inside, pointing towards the buildings. "I'll speak to you later."

"Illias listen to me; Verida told me she only wanted to frame Enrique for the theft."

"And how should I believe that when she just threatened me with my own rifle? I could kill you right here right now with my own very arms you two." Illias warned. "Both of you get out of this town, and never come back. If I see either of you within eyesight of these huts, it be on your heads." Illias took out a few bullets from his shell and pockets and started loading the gun with them. "You've got ten seconds." He began to point the gun to the two as they hurried around the buildings, heading southeast...

 _BACK INSIDE THE MAIN BUILDING..._

Illias closed the door behind him and put the gun aside. He walked over to the kitchen to see Enrique standing by the oven, eating some food and looking out of the window. Johan headed upstairs to put some implements used earlier away. Enrique turned his attention towards Illias, trying to relax himself after taking a deep breath.

"That was surprising-."

"I know it was, even for me." Illias interrupted immediately. "That also means it's time for you to go. Listen, I really wish we could meet and talk properly but this isn't the place for you. It's too rough, and thanks to me you didn't get killed there. I never load my gun unless I'm using it. Don't trust anyone here boy. I would say don't trust anyone at all but what do I know about the south." Enrique felt a bit down after thinking he wouldn't be able to see Illias in a long time again, most likely after the races, which would be months away.

"Perhaps I could take you down south to watch one of the races, would you like that?" He suggested, assuming Illias would be comfortable crossing the mountains and being escorted around safely. "You might have to act more friendly if you do come."

"I don't know, my human friend, for I have only heard the races on the radio, nor have I ever visited a race. But against it would make me really at risk of being killed. So long as I'm not recognised, or even near those who would spot me out. I would go, it's not like I need to be here on the dial." It took Enrique a while to decipher what Illias had said.

"I can get you safer passage to the next race, which begins tomorrow. You will have discrete shelter and everything. This I promise." He was now waiting for the final verdict on whether they should go or not.

"Then we must go now." He eventually confirmed. "I don't want anybody nearby knowing of this, and you make sure none of your southerner friends down there know about it either."

"Good." Enrique smiled. "For I have much to tell you about, let's go now." As the two headed through the building and out through the main entrance, Johan arrived downstairs carrying a basket of laundry he had collected from upstairs.

"Illias? Enrique?" He looked out of the window to see the two not knowing he was watching them. He watched as they rushed towards the nearest accessible car, getting in quickly and driving off in a matter of seconds. "Guess I'll do all the cleaning again..." He said to himself. "Johan does everything here, that's right... always Johan." He sighed, going over to the washing machine...

...

Enrique powered down the woodland roads at high speed. En route to Vurduresa train station.

"So why couldn't we use the Zurlon train station?" Enrique asked.

"A group of idiots destroyed the rails from there and Takhar, so no trains run northward on this side, which really sucks for those who have places to get to. The only place we can access is Atûm, if there was a train."

"Atûm is Takharim?"

"Yes-." Enrique stomped on the brakes, stopping the car almost immediately.

"Honey is that you?" A human voice echoed through the trees nearby. Enrique peered into the distance and pointed in the direction he heard it from for Illias. He spotted a wandering human, looking very hazy and lost. "It never is you." The human stumbled out of the woods and fell onto the road, only a few metres from the car. Illias got out of the car, taking his rifle with him and loading it up. "Go on, kill me. Nobody wants me anyway." He pointed the gun at the crying human. Enrique got out of the car as well and looked closer, the human became recognisable.

"Ledro?" Enrique gasped with surprise.

"You know this man?" Illias approached the human at point blank range, putting the gun to his head.

"Put the gun down, I'm confused as to why he's here as well, but he's no fighter." Illias moved the gun aside.

"I said shoot me!" Ledro cried. "End my misery!"

Enrique crouched down and looked into the sobbing human's eyes. "Go home Ledro, I mean home home." He looked back to Illias, who was watching the sobbing. "Get in the car." He ordered. "I'll be a few minutes." Enrique took Ledro into the woods and disappeared from Illias' eyes in the distance. And a few minutes later only Enrique returned, getting back into the car.

"What happened with that guy?" Illias asked.

"He's a failed martyr, abandoned his guard. I've sent him back to Earth." Enrique replied, starting the car once again.

"It's a good thing, one less person causing havoc up here."

"You don't like what they do?"

"I'm _against_ what they do."

Enrique sighed before driving off. "I have a lot of cases where two friends of mine are enemies with eachother."

Illias sniggered. "You can have friends of friends of friends of friends. But I like to see myself at the end of a spectrum like that, where I have friends, none of which are enemies with eachother. Anyone else is either an enemy, or insignificant to me."

"Friendship is not linear; there are connecting ties between everyone. If portrayed it would be multi-dimensional." Enrique spoke his mind, lecturing the Koopa. "It would mean a lot to someone if they knew all the relationships between anybody of significance to this day."

"There's probably someone out there who knows everything."

"Or something." He thought. "Something that watches all." He continued driving down further southward.

 **3:20PM**

 **Diamond City, East Mushroom Kingdom**

After venturing some miles from their shack in Saljiya. Wario set out in the afternoon looking for a friend to speak with in Diamond City. He had spent a lot of his recent years in the city whenever he wasn't called into karting, football or other sports hosted by the government. Wario even had his own building, where his old company: WarioWare Inc, was situated. After the events at new year, and the hunt for old allies of King Bowser – now internationally recognised as the Mushroom Accords - all of his belongings and ownerships in the city were taken away from him, forcing to move northward on the suburbs of the city in the small town of Saljiya. Thankfully for him, most of his colleagues were not affected by the accords. He hoped now that he could venture through the city to find his colleagues after not seeing them for ages without being interrogated by any Patrol that might be wandering within the city.

There were toads everywhere. He didn't expect the place to be flooded in with toads for it never had so many. They all occupied the streets and seemed to have routed out most of the human settlers that lived here. The city had existed for hundreds of years, being occupied mainly by the first humans of the lands. He only hoped now that his friends would still be dwelling in the main building, hoping to see them. Wario tried not to be spotted by Toads who were in the streets; they appeared to be around every corner on the block.

He eventually became noticed, but many Toads in the town only stared at him as opposed to confronting him and wasting his time. Wario was actually unsure if he would get arrested by the Brigade if they caught him wandering in this very town. It was in the Mushroom Kingdom, which would be a place he wouldn't be allowed to go to, but due to races he thought he should be allowed freedom of travel between the days of racing. After eventually arriving to the building, he had noticed the front entrance to be completely changed for the worst. All of the branding was removed; the only trace of familiarity was the giant W on top. The stump that the building was on had completely been refurbished as if something new was being built on top. But from his eyesight it looks like nothing changed at the top.

Wario groaned whilst inside, for the elevator was out of use, there was now only a long trek up the stairs and this seemed like running a marathon for him as running was not his forte. This indicated that the power was no longer supplied for the building. It made him wonder if anyone would be at the top. But for his sake, he would still hope they would be there for him.

After several minutes of continuous heavy breathing and panting, he eventually reached the top. The place felt like home to him, despite the lack of power. As he reached the penthouse he heard signs of life and activity, a bit later he heard familiar voices. When he opened up the doors to the main room he saw two of his old friends, Mona and Jimmy.

"Oh my." Mona rushed over towards Wario and gave him a big hug. Wario had not felt so wanted before for weeks. "I knew you'd come." She kept hugging him for more and more seconds, until she eventually stopped after Wario began to feel uncomfortable. "We've been trapped up here for weeks."

"What? How? Why is that, I came up here without any problems." He replied, and then looked over towards Jimmy. "It's nice to see you two here. I always hoped someone would return here."

"It's great to see you've returned." Jimmy smiled back.

"We've been under surveillance here, because we're wanted by the crown." Mona stated. "Since we have connections to you that is, and we don't want to leave this place, not until we see you return."

"If we step out of this building or out onto the balconies we would be shot, a threat was warned to us weeks ago." Jimmy added. "I'm telling you that girl has become corrupt ever since Bowser turned himself in."

"I'm confused." Wario said. "Why would she want to get you guys to surrender, you weren't exactly doing anything bad."

"Well Jimmy did make up a lie about there being lethal bombs in this building, and that he would detonate them if many Toads marched in."

"Hey I don't want anybody touching me or my hair. If Peach wants us to surrender she can visit us herself." Jimmy mentioned. "This place was always like a sanctuary to all of us."

"Speaking of us." Wario interrupted. "Where are the others?"

"Well." Mona began. "Crygor turned himself in, now he's been spending weeks doing experiments with E.G. That's all I know about him now."

"Who's E.G?" Wario questioned.

"Elvin Gadd." Jimmy answered. "One technician, scientist, mechanical engineer guy associated with Luigi."

"Oh right, the guy that made his ghost machines and stuff."

"The volts are still around in their home. 5, 9, 11, 18." Mona continued.

"There's an 11 Volt?" Wario wondered. He could only record four friends with names like that.

"Yeah, he's a quiet one... 9's younger brother, much ado with not being seen if you know what I mean." She then began to mention many others, who had either left the city or were completely unaffected by the accords.

"And for anyone else that you remembered, Ana and Kat were taken down south, I don't know where either of them are at the moment. They weren't here at the time of the sentencing of the accords, which led to why we didn't know much about what happened to them."

"Enough of all that. We can't let you see anyone else though because this building is being watched at all times. We're wanted people Wario." Jimmy said.

"We haven't even heard about those races, last night and three nights before we heard some sound outside of you being part of some mega double dash tournament with your brother, how has that gone for you?"

"It's been alright." Wario replied. "We're currently seventh, but there's no clear lead at the moment since there's so many races to go, with the next one being tomorrow."

"Well good luck with that." Mona replied. "You'll knock 'em down!"

Wario began to hear more sounds coming from outside. The others began to sense it as well. Wario slowly moved towards one of the windows of the penthouse to look down on the city. As he peered into the distance, he didn't see much, but after a while he began to notice several partially-hidden Toads, armed and watching the building. They occupied the rooftops of many buildings surrounding WarioWare Inc.

"I can see them all... watching us from where they are. I have to speak to them about it." Wario insisted as he went over to a window on the other side of the penthouse to check on 5-Volt's home. He spotted many Toads outside the home and the skateboard by the front door missing. Wario couldn't see much from just looking with his normal eyesight, so he went over to a compartment drawer and took out his old pair of binoculars. As he used them he got a sharper look at the house. The front door was in fact open and he spotted 5-Volt talking to some Toad Brigade members in the front garden. She looked very uncomfortable, and Wario thought she might be being interrogated by the Brigade about Mona and Jimmy.

"Come have a look at this, guys." Wario handed over the binoculars to Jimmy, who took off his glasses and had a look down to the house. Jimmy looked into one of the windows of the house to see 9-Volt playing a video game and 11-Volt playing with some soft toys. he was unsure where 18-Volt was. When he checked to see their mother outside, he noticed her turning face, which was now looking up to the window where she became able to see Jimmy and Wario. Seconds later the Toads she was talking to, also turned their heads to look upward. And they too began to notice Jimmy and Wario. The Brigade spoke amongst themselves and then ordered one armoured Brigade member to open fire at the building window with his weapon. The glass of the window shattered and Wario dragged Jimmy out of the way of the crossfire.

"I told you they were on to us!" Jimmy yelled at Wario, panicking against the wall next to the broken window.

"Oh my god, oh my god!" Mona began to worry, huddling herself up in a corner of the room. Wario bravely crawled underneath the window spot and picked up the binoculars that Jimmy dropped whilst using. He still wanted to see what was going on in the streets outside 5-Volt's home.

"Just stay calm, I'm going to see what's down there." Wario used the binoculars and checked again. He spotted 5-Volt being taken back into her home and several Toads began to make their way towards the building.

"Yaaaa! Stop the violence!" He heard a very familiar voice echo from the streets. It was the voice of his brother. Jimmy and Mona calmed themselves down as they heard the voice. Wario looked over to where Waluigi was, and noticed him standing in the middle of the street with his arms up in the air. The Brigade surrounding him lowered their weapons in response to his presence. "There are no bombs in the building; nobody would do such a thing here." Waluigi continued.

"Then tell those inside to come down." The Toad Brigade chief at the bottom said back. "Come down, and you will not be hurt." The three at the top heard the words of the Toad chief, but were unsure to go back down.

"Listen, the people up there do not want any business with Peach, just let them be, and leave!" Waluigi begged. "They had no relation to Bowser whatsoever." The Brigade looked at eachother, debating what to do with the three at the top. Wario began to make his way down, insisting on Mona and Jimmy coming too. Wario knew that he wouldn't be taken by the Brigade if that's what they were going to do with the others. He hoped Mona and Jimmy wouldn't be affected too now. Waluigi watched tens of Toad Brigade rush towards the front entrance to the building whilst the three inside were venturing down the stairs. He then turned back to 5-Volt's house to see her walk out and follow them. She appeared crossed, having to leave her children in doors alone during an eventful scene. Wario opened the main doors to see himself surrounded by the Brigade.

"Where are the others inside?" The Toad Brigade asked whilst staring directly at him, some pointing weapons at the entrance.

"Put your weapons down." Wario persuaded. "There is nothing to fear from them." In a matter of seconds, Wario revealed Jimmy and Mona in front of the Brigade and now a developing crowd of human and Toad citizens. Out of the crowd they spotted Waluigi and 5-Volt, who was looking very unhappy. Jimmy and Mona had their arms up in the air as they walked out of the entrance.

"Clear the building." The chief Toad Brigade ordered several Toads to go inside, and search for anybody else or any danger.

"You two should be ashamed of yourself!" 5-Volt nagged. "Look at all the commotion and disruption you've caused in this town." She shamed the two, hesitating to speak in response.

"This wasn't the sight I wanted to come back to." Wario added.

"How do you like your house being under surveillance all the time huh?" Jimmy asked back. "Look at everyone around you, this place hasn't been the same since those accords were issued. Half the humans are gone and the town is flooded with Toad immigrants if you ask me what's happened." Several reporters began to surround Jimmy, many with photographers trying to get pictures of the man.

"Stop caring about me, go and watch those races." He yelled at the crowds, now looking depressed. The Toad Brigade eventually issued an area clearance, pushing the crowds away. Many Toads began to take Jimmy and Mona to the work station based outside 5-Volt's house, where 5-Volt, Wario and Waluigi walked to after them.

"What are you going to do to us, you Toads don't belong here. This is a sacred city." Jimmy whined. most of the Toads didn't take interest into what he was saying.

"Orders from the queen." One of the Toads replied. Another Toad quickly and surprisingly injected a tracker into Jimmy's arm using a syringe, more Toads restrained Mona and put one into her as well.

"What's this, a tracking device?" Mona questioned.

"All of us have it, 11-Volt was crying for hours when even he was given one." She glared into one of the Toads' eyes. "It's corrupt, you're all corrupt!"

"Be grateful we didn't deport you north." Another Toad said back, further annoying 5-Volt.

"I was nev-." Wario's mouth was blocked by Waluigi's hand. He shook his head and then gestured a referral to the Toad with the syringe.

"It's like any associate of Bowser or an ally of his are being monitored, how messed up does that sound?" Jimmy pointed out.

"We've still got many more to track, including the likes of Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and Zane." The Toad chief mentioned. "That's all we wanted from you two, that was all. There was no need for a week-long self-hostage in that building." 5-Volt growled at the others.

"Where are Kat and Ana?" Wario asked 5-Volt.

"Those two are in good hands. They've adopted botany and are plant nurses in Mushroomheath." She replied. "They've given up with Diamond City and have moved on, unlike you two."

"But this place... It's _our_ home, not Peach's." Jimmy argued. The Toads began to disassemble their work station and took their belongings out of the area. They took their parked vans out of the area and left the scene, though the WarioWare Inc entrance was still barred off by tapes.

"All clear, schedule for knocking down in 24 hours." A Toad with a speaker called from one of the vans. Mona burst into tears. Wario hugged her and comforted her whilst looking back up to the building, shedding a tear himself.

"Oh my, I hate the government." Jimmy ranted.

"Wario and I will speak to Peach about this tomorrow; she must know what's going on here." Waluigi replied to Jimmy, trying to calm him down.

"What time is your race, and where is it?"

"It's Mushroom Bridge; I can't remember the time fully."

"Midday." Wario added, confirming the time. "We will be able to speak to her before the wrecking is to take place, so hopefully we can do something about our glory."

"You two get back here as soon as you can." Jimmy wished, sitting down on the pavement outside 5-Volt's home.

"Get up." 5-Volt insisted. "Come indoors, I've got some chickan cooking in the oven, you're all welcome to stay the night..."

 **9:30PM**

 **Peach's Castle, Mushroom City**

"I heard a lot of mess that happened in Diamond City earlier ago today." Tom stated, looking out of the window in Peach's headquarters of her castle, amazed again at the luxurious metropolitan skyline of Mushroom City. He always adored the orange haziness of the city lights; it reminded him of his days in Brooklyn. He had always looked out of the window in his apartment on the top floor, entertained for hours at the view of the dark blue sky above the skyscrapers whilst he was having nights in with his friends.

"You love looking out of this window." Peach gathered, taking what Tom said into account but waiting until later to talk about it, "You like to look down on a grateful city. You can see Mushroomheath from here you know, you see those orange lights in the corner over there?" Peach pointed to the top right corner of Tom's vision. He was reminded of the memories he spent there a few weeks back, trying to get back to the city unnoticed.

"This view, it's a lot like one of the views I saw a lot when I was back in Brooklyn. Back before I knew of this place." Peach smiled.

"It's good to remember the past, especially the good moments." She looked into the distance as well as she stood next to him. "I've remembered times where I'd look out of this window and see a much smaller city, or even worse a city in flames."

"I remember that as well, we were so young." Daisy interrupted Tom and Peach's fake love moment. She stood on Tom's left where Peach was on his right. Tom's head stood in the middle above the princess's and the queen's.

"Feel free to come here whenever you're able to if it makes you feel happy." Peach mentioned. "This view gives me so many different memories at once.

"Yeah, even that time Bowser crashed in." Tom joked, making Daisy laugh.

"That will never happen again." Peach said deeply. "My Brigade is ever growing and now we have many enemies dealt with, being watched at all times."

"That reminds me of what I initially asked you about. What's with these trackers?" Tom asked Peach. Daisy looked back at Peach, not knowing about the trackers either.

"Most of Bowser's allies are now being under surveillance. This prevents any potential threats arising from them." Peach replied, trying to improvise around the question.

"You put a tracker in an infant, who is not even in relation to Bowser, he's a kid of a mother who is a colleague of _Wario,_ who isn't even a bad person anymore, or never was." Peach's eyes widened about the reference to 5-Volt's children.

"Wait what?" Peach lied. "I never told them to do such a thing to them!" Tom slapped Peach in the face, knowing for a fact she wouldn't call security on him.

"Hey, that's my best friend you just struck, have you got a reason for that?" Daisy slapped Tom in the back of his head.

"She's injected a tracker in two kids, and many more I can't even think of how many people the Brigade have gone after now." Tom shouted back. "If anything I'm more of an associate to Bowser than 9 or 11-Volt are." He glared into Peach's eyes. "Something doesn't seem right, it makes me think those weren't even trackers at all. "Why is it not overly on the news, surely many, many Koopas would have been injected with that."

Peach looked outside of her headquarters to check if there were any nearby Toad servants eavesdropping on their conversation. "Listen here, that family are the only ones injected with trackers, it's actually for an experiment that I've got Gadd and Crygor working with. I needed to see how a sample of humans are settling in after I issued out the accords on the second of January." Tom slapped her face again, lightly.

"No, this sounds like bullshit Peach, and if it really is true then it seems stupid. What is it with you and the idea of having 24 hour surveillance on the entire southern lands?" Tom questioned.

"That family hate me so much, they wish I was dead."

"You think they're the only ones? No offense, and how comes Mona and Jimmy were tracked as well? News travels fast, and if you're a human it's faster."

"Ok screw that idea." Peach moaned. "I don't even know what to do with myself anymore. I can't even sleep most nights anymore." Daisy looked at her and nodded in agreement.

"You seem to be doing well in the races." Tom mentioned.

"Because I'm the best, I being tired doesn't make me horribly bad." She joked, Daisy laughed along with her.

"I'm doing all the work." Daisy joked as well.

"Well this isn't what you should be doing whilst you're not racing. Nobody cares for surveillance right now, you need to be sorting out your personal problems if you have any during this time, because trust me there's going to be a great war coming in a few months." Tom thought. "Something tells me it's not going to be a war against the hostiles. Enrique's with them right now I think." Peach listened to Tom's last few words, and it reminded her about the nightmares she was having. It made her question who to trust, the voices in her head, or the human who also appeared in her dreams. "Wario's going to speak to you about it tomorrow, and since he wasn't injected he's going to ask for answers. This was horribly planned since those Toads you must've paid to do it said it was to put all of Bowser's allies under surveillance."

"I wasn't thinking straight." Peach groaned. "I had so much shit happen today I could barely even remember this morning. I can't believe I randomly issued trackers to innocent citizens."

"You just said they want you dead."

"See I'm so confused with myself right now."

"It's the power." Daisy suggested.

"No, it isn't." Tom thought. "It's something else, have you spoken to your professional doctor about how you're feeling?" Daisy began to look worried.

"I don't think I feel like speaking to the doctor about this." Peach added, believing in herself. "I should be able to rise from it." Tom knew for sure that something didn't seem right about Peach, nor Daisy as she seems to go completely with Peach's feelings. Despite there being so many changes of mind that the princesses have had for the past week he felt like there was something disrupting her.

"Don't issue any orders out until you feel better, that's all I'm asking. You have to disable the trackers on the Diamond City sample as well, even if they wished you dead." Tom suggested. "Is there a way of destroying the trackers whilst their inside their wrists?"

"Yes, let me manage that tomorrow." Peach replied. "All this stress is making me tired, but I don't want to sleep."

"I'll stay with you." Daisy supported, taking Peach over to the front door of the headquarters.

"You can stay the night Tom." Peach called from across the room. "I can order Toads to deliver you a mattress for that room, so you can look out of the window all you want to." She smiled at him from across the room before leaving to go to her bedroom. Tom smiled back before the two left the room. As they turned a corner to go towards her bedroom, Peach began to feel weak, slowing down. Her vision began to blur and she felt more tired.

"Peach are you ok?" Daisy noticed her feeling heavier for her to carry. Peach lost her balance and began clinging onto the corridor walls, slowly descending down to the floor.

"Too tired..." Peach sat on the floor resting her head against the wall. Daisy was unsure whether to call Tom for help. He would the only one to help the queen whilst covering up her dreaded nightmares potentially being the cause of weakening her, from the public.

"Tom! Come and help us!" Daisy called from across the corridor, he quickly rushed over and noticed Peach lying against the wall with her eyes almost closed.

"I knew she wasn't feeling alright." Daisy and Tom lifted Peach up from her arms and legs and carried her body into her bedroom. Tom raised her up from her arms to keep her upright on the course to the bedroom. As they arrived they laid her down softly. Tom took a deep breath in relief just before noticing a red patch on her bed duvet. He completely ignored Peach and stared at the spot. Daisy too looked in that direction and only now realised that Tom saw it as well.

"Tom it's not what it looks like, I swear to you nobody has done anything to Peach, she only woke up with it." Daisy tried to persuade. "She isn't."

"I know she isn't, that's not what I was thinking, I feel as if something has horribly affected Peach." Tom looked to see Peach now completely asleep. Daisy quickly rushed towards the door and was about to close it until she spotted Enrique standing outside the door.

"Am I missing out on any fun?" Enrique joked as he carelessly strolled past Daisy who was trying to block him from coming inside.

"Enrique, do not come in here!" Tom's shouting stopped Enrique's movement just before he could turn his head to see Peach asleep.

"What's going on?" He asked from the doorway. Enrique could only see Peach's heels sideways lying on the bed. He gathered that she was lying on the bed either sleeping or unwell. Daisy eventually let go her effort to stop Enrique from coming inside. He saw the full figure of Peach, looking both unwell and asleep.

"Peach isn't feeling well, but I don't think it's any ordinary illness." Tom replied.

Enrique approached the bed to see how she was. "She looks very sleep deprived." He eventually saw the blood patch further into the centre of the giant bed. "Oh that's not what I think it is, is it?" He looked at Daisy whilst pointing at the patch.

"No, it really isn't and that's the thing that's making me think it's some different kind of illness." Tom looked back at Daisy. "Was Peach's you-know-where stained if you can recall or was it rather clear of blood?" She looked discomforted in response to Tom's question.

"I don't know." She replied anxiously. "I didn't check there."

"I think we should let Peach be now." Tom suggested.

"You boys go back to the headquarters. I'll call the workers for the mattresses and stay with her."

"No Daisy, all of us are leaving this room... after you've called the Toads. We need to let her be." Daisy wondered about whether Peach would have another nightmare, but for her to gather more information she agreed with Tom with a nod and went over to the wall button to announce a message to the Toad workers.

"Can any workers deliver two pillows, mattresses and blankets to Peach's headquarters room please." Daisy announced before getting up to leave the room. "I'll be a minute; you two go ahead and sort the beds out." She told the others, whilst remembering one thing to do in the room. Daisy closed the door on Tom and Enrique, sending them across the corridor. She went back to the other side of the bedroom and opened up another secret compartment in Peach's bedroom. It had a drawer and a fridge filled with branded champagne. Daisy poured one glass and placed it delicately on the right bed-side table next to her notebook, for Peach when she wakes. After clearing up, Daisy walked back to the door and exited the room, leaving Peach in peace.

"Goodnight boys." Daisy called across the room to Tom and Enrique, who were sorting out their own mattresses to fit through the doors, since the Toads weren't strong enough to place in all the items.

"Night Daisy." Tom responded, closing the door behind him after everything was inside the headquarters room. The two spent a few minutes setting up before going to sleep, getting their hours in, in preparation for the next race tomorrow. Daisy got herself undressed and into her gown sleeping quickly in her own room as well.

...

Zane now looked lifeless, she was still unsure now if he was actually having the same dream. He's lost all senses and now doesn't even seem to be alive in this dream. Every few seconds, Peach's vision flashed with a spark of the look of a burning city, much alike the view of Mushroom City during the great wars in the past.

"Why?" Peach yelled, staring at Zane in an isolate-looking room that Peach appeared in. Her surroundings looked like a much smaller version of her bedroom. "Why did you make me stupid yesterday, why did you make me track people in Diamond City?"

"Your actions are my actions." The voice in her head replied. "It's the cost of losing your soul." The deep voice echoed around the room. Peach attempted to jump from her bed to Zane but was restrained by invisible cuffs, hooked up to the headboard of the bed.

"Why am I losing sleep?" She asked again.

"You're not sleeping." The voice replied with a dark tone. "As I said this isn't a nightmare."

"Then I want to confront you." She challenged. "I want to confront you in daytime, when I am properly awake."

"But you are confronting me now."

"I can't see you though."

"Yes you can, I am right in front of you, right behind you, on your left on your right, I am all around you." The voice kept echoing around Peach's surroundings, it actually began to get to the point of scaring her.

"Stop lying to me, show yourself! Coward!" Peach shouted with fury.

"Patience, my little girl." The cuffs pulled Peach closer to the headboard, trapping her arms in place.

"We're not done here!" She shouted as the surroundings began to blacken, her vision kept reducing, leading her to scream.

And in a matter of seconds Peach fell down into her bed and the darkness disappeared. She watched the door open to her right and Daisy stormed in.

"Peach!" She called. "What happened?" Peach looked around to see her bedroom looking normal again. It was still dark outside and she checked the time by looking at the clock on her opposite wall. 1:15AM. Peach moved her arms forward and had to put in a little more effort in because it still felt like she was cuffed to the headboard. The grip of the cuffs slowly weakened and Peach's armed were normally movable again.

"Are your arms alright?" Daisy asked again.

"What did you hear?" Peach asked back.

"Some screaming... and something about... not being done here." She replied.

"Did you have your bedroom door open when you woke up?" Peach asked again.

"Yeah."

"Close it this time, and go to sleep again, I'm sorry." Daisy walked backwards out of the room and closed the door behind her. Peach looked straight ahead of her in silence.

"I've been awake this whole time." She said to herself. Peach got up and quickly changed back into her gown and got back in to her bed on the left side, the width of her bed was about three metres across and five metres long, so she had plenty of space to sleep while avoiding the bloodstain. She pulled her duvet over and attempted to properly sleep this time. She's already had a 'nightmare' in this night phase; she hoped she wouldn't have a second one...

 **EOC: You know what I usually say here.**

 **See you soon!**


	16. Mushroom Bridge

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 16 – Mushroom Bridge

 **A/N: To see the teams and their karts, see the beginning of Chapter 7. Results of the first and second races can be found in Chapters 11 and 13 respectively. You probably know by now that if a chapter is named after a racetrack, then that race is in the chapter.**

 **January 19, 2015 (1) – 1:20AM**

 **Peach's Castle, Mushroom City**

She lied in her bed giving some time before trying to sleep. She wondered if she had written down the word 'soul' in her notebook. As she went to check she hurdled across the bloodstain on her bed and noticed a tall glass of champagne lying next to the notebook. Peach smiled, being ever so more grateful to have Daisy as her best friend.

She realised now that all of the nightmares she has had recently have been set around her bedroom, particularly her bed as she has always woken up in that same spot. Whether the surroundings look like the room in darkness, a destroyed Mushroom City or purple and hazy looking woods, there had always been her bed. Peach took the champagne glass, and got out of bed, walking over towards the window. She opened the newly installed curtains up and had another glance at the city. The lights of the city looked less orange and more blue, for there was a full moon directly reflecting the sun's light up in the sky and down onto Mushroom City. At this time of night there were also very few lights on in town, only lampposts and major buildings were lit up, for most citizens would be sleeping at the moment.

She sat down, the window was the size of the walls so Peach's view was not obstructed. The top floor of the castle was sort of U shaped. When Peach took into power she designed it so she would have her bedroom at the tip of one side and her headquarters on the other, so that the views were both similar and overlooking the great city. While she had sips from her glass, she looked to her right to see the old family portraits hung up on the wall. The largest one in the middle of the wall had one of her when she was young, along with her family: the King, the Queen, and the older brother Prince. Her family seemed similar to that of Rosalina's being consisted of having an older brother and deceased parents. But the only difference is that Peach's brother is actually dead, unlike Rosalina's who's fate was mistaken by many even misinterpreted by the Miyamoto.

Peach thought that it was always nice to reflect on the past as it would to remind her that the future is always full of surprises. As she looked around she saw all the other pictures, oddly enough she didn't have any pictures of her and Mario up, nor anyone else besides her family, though there was a gap in the pictures and a marking of a previously hung up picture. Looking at that made Peach thought that she was too harsh on Mario, she had felt like she completely got rid of him only because he wasn't able to help her any further. As she was finishing off the glass she looked back out of the window and upward to the moon and the stars. It made her think of all the good friends she had and the memories her and the people had together.

She remembered all the good times managing parades and events and entertainment along with government management with Toad.

She remembered all the good times being saved from Bowser's Castle and the trips to the private beach with Mario.

She had remembered the northern missions with Tom and the romantic dinner she had back when she first met Enrique.

But most importantly she recalled some of the good times she has had with Daisy, there have been too many for her to think of on the spot.

All these thoughts put a smile onto Peach's face as she stared out into the night sky. The more she thought about it the more it made her tired. Eventually Peach put her glass aside and she lied down against the window flat on the floor, falling to a softer, cosier sleep than in previous days.

 **9:20AM**

"Peach? Come on wake up, and how did you get here?" Daisy nudged Peach from the floor, waking her up. She rolled over to the other side, eventually opening her eyes. There she saw Daisy, all ready in her biker outfit but without the shoes, as if she was ready to leave immediately.

"W-what's the time, Daisy?" Peach struggled to keep her eyes widened open.

"Twenty past nine, come on you have to get ready. The race starts in two and a half hours!" Daisy worried. As Peach got up she noticed her biker outfit was laid out on a clean bed, the duvet looked new and she couldn't see any old one where the bloodstain might be.

"Thanks for the champagne, Daisy. I think it helped me get some good sleep last night." Daisy stopped rushing around and looked back at Peach.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "Thought you would like to have some in the night... Now come on, let's get ready! I've already ordered Toads to send up breakfast." She cleaned the flute and placed it back inside the drawers.

"Where are the others?" Peach asked, referring to Tom and Enrique who had stayed the night in her headquarters.

"They've already making their way down to the island. I've been told that there's going to be a huge audience there today, backed with music and entertainment." Daisy replied, going to the door to collect the breakfast from the Toad servants.

"Oh great, that probably means Ballyhoo's going to be there, occupying the crowd in advance. Hopefully there'll be nothing too big like what happened on the first day; I told the production team and management that we should do that after the first eight races."

"What if the ninth race picked is one of those really difficult-to-get-a-massive-ceremony races."

"They'll find a way; they'll have a week to prepare since we're announcing the ninth to twelfth races after the fourth one, which one's that again?"

"Maple Treeway."

Peach sat on her bed with the breakfast on her side, ready to eat the meal quickly. She was given a full formal buffet but it didn't matter to her if she could eat it all or not.

"How was your sleep last night?" Daisy finally asked. "I'm confused as to how you woke up on the floor by the window with the glass next to you." She watched Peach have nibbles from the buffet, slowly getting through the meal.

"I intentionally slept there. I didn't feel like sleeping in my bed after that nightmare happened... But when I sat down by the window, drank the champagne and eventually snuggled myself up on the floor, I had the best sleep in ages, and I also didn't have any other nightmare." Daisy smiled back.

"I'm glad... So you think the bed's got something in connection with any of this?"

"Probably, and I feel as if when this happens... I'm awake."

"That could be why you've been so tired." Daisy suggested. She noticed Peach's eyes beginning to close again and her head leaning downwards towards the food. She quickly reached out her hand and held Peach's sleepy head. "Come on, get up now. You still haven't fixed your sleeping pattern. Just get through today and you can sleep this afternoon."

"Yes I do need sleep." Peach had enough of her meal and began to put on her biker outfit slowly and lazily. "I had nothing new to write about last night." She mentioned to Daisy.

"You're not sleeping on that bed tonight I guarantee you."

"I feel like sleeping at the twins' place tonight. I can relax hearing the blissful waves of the sea."

"They better not be there tonight."

"They won't be – they're trying to hide from me." Peach got off her bed, fully equipped with the outfit and ready to leave. She expected transport to be on the ground floor by the time she had got there.

"Those boys have been just as much of a nuisance to us as Zane and Koopak have been." Daisy mentioned to Peach.

"Speaking of Zane, I need to issue a hunt for him to the Brigade, him and Marrec need to come to my castle hopefully tomorrow. I have to speak to them both about something if they are willing to return."

"Uhh Peach?" Daisy giggled. "Something tells me those two don't wanna return since you had Zane in prison only weeks ago.

"I'm not planning on arresting them." Peach responded. "Let's go." The two trekked down the many stairs of the castle knowing that the duvet was safe from any interaction with any Toad servant. There were several workers awaiting the two's entrance to the great hall as they had vehicles set up outside waiting to depart south-eastwards towards the Island of Mushroom Bridge. It was around 10am at the time where they eventually departed, and by then at least half of the teams had already arrived to the Island. Ballyhoo was already at the stands attending the almost full crowd of spectators. The stands were set up by the production crew situated across all sides of the track. In this course, the bridge sides were open, but the secret pipe was disabled. The indication of this was displayed on billboards near the participants' tent on the Island. On the southeast coast, just a few hundred metres from the Island, crowds of viewers appeared in front of Peach and Daisy's eyes as their transport approached the area. Thousands of Toads, Piantas, Goombas, Koopas and other species gathered around to see many screens set up for normal viewers. It seemed that there were additional VIP-like tickets distributed for this race so the viewer could go directly to the Island and watch. The transport took a left and drove around the crowds, many people in it turned their heads to notice Peach and Daisy inside, taking photos with their cameras and cheering them on as they went by. Their transport eventually arrived at the docking area, where Peach spotted Rosalina and Pauline in their biker outfits, waiting to be taken across by a small ferry. This area was secluded away from the crowds and blocked off by fencing. There were still many heads turning their way.

"Seems like we're still crowd favourites." Peach pointed out, looking at the cheering crowds. She looked up and peered into the distance to see a screen on a billboard showing the current standings of the participants. They were still in the lead. "I guess us winning shows it." She grinned.

The two exited their transport and awaited the arrival of the next ferry. It was almost 11am now.

"That's 13 teams present." A Toad at the port ticked off Peach and Daisy's name on a sheet of paper. The two were then taken towards the waiting area, where they were greeted by the other double-female team.

"Queen Toadstool." Rosalina addressed with a smile.

"Rosalina, Queen of the Stars. I say that's got a good ring to it." Peach smiled back.

"I'm not one for titles." She then turned to Daisy and greeted her. "How have the past 48 hours been for you two?"

"Very tiring, full of work and not of sleep." Peach replied.

"Same here." Daisy replied. "Had to deal with a lot of things with a lot of people."

"Have you heard anything about your brother?" Peach asked Rosalina.

She looked back at Peach with curiosity. "No, why?"

"Oh I thought you'd know where he is. I need him for something confidential and was wondering if you knew."

"Well in all honesty I can't recall seeing my brother for weeks. We don't really get on very well."

"Can't you like... call him or something?" Peach wondered.

"Zane's phone... was last seen in Isle Port. I have no idea when and why he left it there. I did keep it hidden there when I was there last."

"Isle Port, specifically the twins' house right?"

"Yep."

Peach smiled.

"Well if you ever see him, let him know that I need him, and it's not for arrestment." The four turned and looked to see if there was a ferry arriving anytime soon for their embarking to the Island.

"One's coming." Pauline indicated.

"All aboard." Daisy cheered, skipping over to the ferry in front of the rest. She decided to occupy her time talking with Pauline at the front of the ferry, leaving Peach with Rosalina at the back.

"I hope you're one to understand things like this, but I've actually been having a lot of weird events happen recently. And when I mean weird, I mean _weird._ "

"What do you mean Peach? What kind of weird things?"

It took a while for Peach to openly speak about her problems. "I've been having these kinds of nightmares, but it's not like I'm sleeping when it happens either. It's like I'm seeing things in my mind and acting it all out whenever I sleep in my bed."

"Has this got to do with Zane by any chance?" Rosalina interrupted, making Peach think she knew what she was having.

"Yeah, I seem to see him in every nightmare I have, but he loses all his senses. He's been deaf, muted, blind, all sorts." Rosalina took a deep breath in response, understanding Peach's suffering.

"In all the time in the recent years that I have encountered Zane, there was always something that would make him the way he is. Since there's no real family that brings us together anymore he does his own thing. He was never one to care about the stars either, which was what my bloodline was all about. A few years back me and Zane were good pals, you remember when we helped you bring those Earth boys to the land we were all fun and friendly together... and then what you have happened to him. Now we're not really in good terms anymore. I haven't seen him in person since the accords."

"Do you have any idea where he might be? Last trace of him was when he escaped the prisons, probably Marrec's doing."

From looking out to the sea, Rosalina turned her head back at Peach and stopped leaning on the edge of the ferry. "You'll have to rely on luck in order to find them now. Marrec could've taken Zane anywhere, even in Résethal since Marrec's well-known up there." The two looked back ahead to notice their arrival to the Island. Peach turned her head back around to see Mario and Luigi at the port, waiting for the next ferry. They were soon joined by Yoshi and Birdo, leaving only one team yet to show up. Peach expected it to be Tom and Enrique, but those two were already on the Island. She saw them having a conversation with many others near the participants' tent, including Wario.

"Oh dear." Peach muttered as she noticed him looking back at her, about to approach and confront. Waluigi followed immediately behind him. The two weren't afraid to expose her in front of all the other racers. Before they boarded off the ferry Peach quickly scanned the area to see which team was not yet on the Island or at the port. She eventually found that out to be Bowser and his son.

"Well if it isn't Miss Spies-a-lot." Wario called from the Island. "You've got some explaining to do!" Many other participants looked over to hear into the argument. Within a few seconds of silence Peach looked around to see Tom at the back avoiding interaction with the argument. Her face turned red, looking more surprised than ever at the amount of witnesses she would have to put up with.

"Wario can we talk about this in p-."

"Oh no, we can't!" He shouted. "I need answers n-."

"It wasn't real! They're not trackers. They're fakes. End of story." She tried to ignore Wario as quickly as possible. "I was not involved; it's not to do with me, or my ideas." Wario stopped after being interrupted. "Clearly I have far more important things to deal with than messing around with some kids of yours." Most of the other participants just watched as Peach responded to Wario, who soon shied out and began to regret the confrontation. Peach stood directly in front of him and put her left hand on his shoulder and leaned in. "I'm a queen now, do you think I have time for toiling with nobodies?" She whispered. Peach rose up and looked around at the participants. "Right, shall we get ready?" She said in her brighter tone.

In due time, Bowser and Bowser Jr eventually arrived to the Island using his clown car. With the other two teams arriving in time from the ferry, every team was ready to race in a few minutes. The spectators were entertained by Ballyhoo's comedic casting, and the billboards were lit up with two tables: one being the order of the racers at the starting line, the other being the current scoreboard.

 **POSITIONS:**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek**

 **Yoshi and Birdo**

 **King Boo and Petey**

 **Rosalina and Pauline**

 **Peach and Daisy**

 **Wario and Waluigi**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu**

 **Mario and Luigi**

 **Tom and Enrique**

 **Toad and Toadette**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth**

 **SCOREBOARD:**

 **Peach and Daisy: 32**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 30**

 **King Boo and Petey: 28**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 24**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 24**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 22**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 21**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 19**

 **Mario and Luigi: 16**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 16**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 14**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 11**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 10**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 8**

 **Toad and Toadette: 6**

 **Tom and Enrique: 5**

As the time almost struck midday, the racers made their way to the track. Items and coins were lit up, and the vehicle obstructions appeared, though not ready to move around the track yet. Outside sound was now shut off for the racers and all they could see around them were stands created like small stumps surrounding the Island. Walkways were made for the spectators to get from stand to stand. It seemed like the Toad management had outdone themselves for the viewing of this race.

For the racers, they watched and waited for the vehicles to start moving as an indication for the beginning of the race. As they began to move, the holographic Lakitu appeared at the start of the race, sounding the traffic light. It flashed red, red again, amber, then green.

The race began, with everyone shooting off this time.

"I just saw them begin; they're travelling through the first tunnel now." One Koopa in the stands spoke through a live pager watch to two other Koopas and a Lakitu in a different stand. "I'm telling you, I'm not Koopak." The Koopa was cuffed by Toad security guards by the edge of one of the stands at the start of the race. The guards were watching him and calling for further support.

"You do look a lot like him though." One of the guards said back.

"Yes, we look alike, but do I sound like him?" The guard shrugged.

"Looks like the race began." Kooper, who was in the stand with the others, watched the racers drive past out of the tunnel. Many were being knocked over by the vehicle obstructions, but they saw Bowser and his son taking the lead so far.

"They better not be taking Koopol out of this entire race just for that." Koopie added. "Is everything ok on your end?"

"They've cuffed me, and then left me for a bit. But I'm stuck on one of the stands and the only way out to the walkways is by going through the security." He replied, standing awkwardly in the corner.

"What's the Koopa doing over there?" George, further into the centre of the same stand whispered to his friend, Toby.

"No idea, the guy's probably some Koopak lookalike."

"You sure Koopol's going to be alright?" Jagem asked the other two. He was sitting on the end of the row at the stand with Kooper next to him and Koopie another one down. They just saw the last sighting of Tom and Enrique, who were currently last in the race as they went through the second tunnel. They began to hear crowds cheering from the other side of the track where the bridge was. Jagem got up and looked over to the other side of the race to see the bridge. He also managed to catch a glimpse of Koopol, awkwardly standing on the other side of the stands on the other side of the bridge.

"Koopol, jump out of the stand and go down to the secluded area where that secret pipe is. Remember to wait for the racers to go by in case you get launched onto the track." He said, watching him look around awkwardly for any sign of Guards. Koopol began to walk around to the back of the stands where he couldn't be seen, ready to jump off and down to the grass.

"Don't miss the jump, over." Jagem spoke to Koopol once more.

The Koopa stood carefully on the railings of the stand's edge and began to leap off. The racers were currently on their second lap, but the distance between first and last was heavily spread out. Koopol watched those trailing at the back eventually head into the first tunnel. He noticed by the side of the track there was a small path along the cliffs leading to over the tunnel, making it possible for him to sneak across and get into the middle stands another way than going through the main secured area. There were many Lakitus about however, each with cameras trying to record a viewing of the race to the general public.

"I think I'm going to be seen." Koopol said through his pager watch. Jagem and the others picked up the message and peeked over to see if they could find Koopol by the bridge above the tunnel.

"Well we can see you, let's hope many others don't see you." Kooper looked over, trying to make it discrete.

"Is that Koopak?" A human voice came from further up the stands. The Koopas turned to see George and Toby standing up and pointing towards Koopol. Koopie quickly jumped up and ran over towards George, staring directly to Koopol's shaking body.

"Stop!" She leaped over to his seat in front of some other spectators and tried to close his mouth.

"Hey, get off of me! What's this Koopa doing?" Him and Toby held Koopie back and put her onto the floor. She hushed the two humans whilst she was restrained onto the floor. Some spectators got distracted by the incident, but many were still watching the racers drive across the final bridge on the second lap. Peach and Daisy, Bowser and Bowser Jr, Rosalina and Pauline, King Boo and Petey, and Wario and Waluigi took the lead, creating a gap behind Kamek and Dry Bones who were currently 6th.

"What? Who are you?" George looked down confused.

"That's not Koopak, just be quiet and try not to spark a massacre here." Koopie replied, pleading George. He looked up and back at Toby, who looked just as much confused as he was.

"Who is he then?" Toby asked Koopie.

"He's Koopol Jautja, a friend of ours." Jagem Lakitu appeared on the end of the row. Kooper stood next to him, nodding in agreement. Both the humans pulled odd faces when they looked to their right towards the end of the row. More spectators began to notice Koopie on the floor and became distracted by that instead of looking at Lap 3.

"Hey, get that Koopa off the floor!" A Toad spectator ranted from the middle of the row. George stopped holding Koopie down and let her up. She now became obstructing the view for some other spectators on the row above. They began yelling her to get out of the way. The crowd gasped for a second after they watched Tom and Enrique set off a bob-omb explosion affecting 5 racing duos. George and Toby diverted their heads to the finish line where it happened and cheered in their favour. More spectators began complaining at Koopie getting in the way.

"This is awkward." Toby said, sitting back down in his seat.

"Koopie get over here!" Jagem called from the right side.

"No, meet us on the left side." Kooper ordered, taking Jagem through the rows and onto the other side where they could meet up with both Koopie and Koopol. George looked over to his left to see the three Koopas and the Lakitu huddle up together.

"I think we gotta tell Tom about this when he's done." Toby mentioned. He looked up to one of the screens which show the positions of each racer. "9th, not bad for them."

"Yeah, maybe they could catch up a few more positions." George added, looking to the right at the start of the bridge. He spotted the leading racers already going up the bridge. Their smiles turned into frowns after realising how far ahead the leaders were.

"Perhaps not." Toby laughed. "I want to know more about those Koopas though; they tried to cover up you from pointing out the Koopak lookalike.

"Maybe it is Koopak, and those dudes down there are trying to hide that from us." George insisted his idea on the situation. Toby got up and strode his way across the row of spectators to get to the left side edge where the Koopas were. As he was getting across the Koopas looked at him, slowly backing away. Jagem had his head in the other direction, trying to grab Koopol and lift him over to the stand.

"Hey, Koopas." Toby got off the row. "This isn't the place to be staging a Koopak appearance in front of the public. Can't you see that there's a race going on here? More so how did you get on this island?" He pointed to Koopol just as he climbed over the railings.

"We have tickets to the race mister." Kooper snapped back at Toby rather rudely. "We all came to watch the race together; it's not our fault our friend looks like a wanted criminal." Toby peered to the right to notice Police guards walking around near the place where they first saw Koopol. He smiled, looking back at the Koopas, assuming they were not looking in the direction of the Police as well.

"So letting him sneak around security and making him actually go across into track territory isn't going to make it any worse for you guys? I'm sure the cameras are completely blinded by your amazing ideas." Toby mocked the Koopas. They began to frown at his statement.

"This should have no concern with you humans, just go back to your seat and watch the race. That is what you are here for." Koopie threatened.

"Listen man, I'm not like Koopak. There isn't going to be a mess here." Koopol pleaded, sounding out of breath.

"Yeah and you look exactly like him, what are you... his stunt double?" George began making his way across the row of spectators to meet with the others.

"Koopak..." Koopol started. "Was once our friend, we grew up with him as being part of our friendship circle. But there was so much he had hidden away from us... He was like a brother to me. Now we want him captured as much as anybody else overly loyal to the crown." Toby acknowledged the statement.

"You know Peach once addressed a message to Koopas with your surname. She wanted Asquias, Jautjas, and Fonavans etcetera. So if you do get caught, you're not going to expect an easy way out of it, and that goes to you especially." He pointed directly to Koopol. Toby noticed the Police approaching the entrance to the middle stands. The others began to feel the movements rushing toward them as well. "You kids don't seem to have any time at all now."

"Koopol Jautja! Arms up in the air!" The Police pointed a pistol towards the Koopa, who shied out, backing towards the railings, stopping him from going any further backward.

"How do they know his name?" Kooper looked back at Jagem and Koopie, both shrugged back at him.

"All Koopas, up where I can see them!" Another Police Guard ordered, forcing them all to stand still. They arrested all four of them.

"You did this!" Koopie yelled at Toby, who was surprised at the fact they knew Koopol's name as well. He also didn't expect all four of them to be arrested. The Guards cuffed the four, taking them out of the stands slowly. The racers were in the middle of lap four as the Koopas disappeared from George and Toby's sight.

"McShells." George stated.

"Ah, that's probably why." Toby said back. "I wonder if we're going to be involved in anything like that." The two headed back to their seats on the middle stands to watch the rest of the race. The crowds were cheering once again as they saw Peach and Daisy lead the pack across the final bridge, followed quickly by their rivals. Tom and Enrique soon emerged; the two were excited to be in the top half of the positioning for once.

"FINAL LAP!" The announcer echoed from the nearby speakers as Peach and Daisy sped past the finish line, Bowser and Bowser Jr were a close second, and King Boo and Petey were less than half a second behind in third. The gaps between the top 3, 4 to 7 and the rest of the racers began to widen. The crowd watched as Toadsworth picked up a triple red shell. He held it carefully as they went through the tunnel, hoping to use it against the front three as they got out on the other end.

"This is going to be tense." George said as he slouched back in his seat after he saw 16th place cross the line. The two could hear distant sounds of shell collisions, explosions and star sound-effects as the racers drove through the middle part of the race. The crowds began to stand up and cheer more as they noticed Rosalina and Pauline head out of the second tunnel as fast as they could. They played it safe and drove along the main part of the last bridge instead of travelling up the sides. The rest of the front bunch came along, most with items or wanting to collect items that floated along the lines. After that came the star users, bullet bills and speedsters with mushrooms. Shy Guy and Lakitu came speeding ahead but got knocked down by a collision with a moving truck, dropping their position immensely. The finish line looked pretty tense, and several racers began crossing it straight after the other. The board showed the ones who had already finished with a chequered flag. Though still no big surprises on where every racer would finish. 25 seconds later everybody had crossed the line and the crowds still hadn't stopped cheering. The leaderboard was now secure with all positions and displayed the full results.

 **Rosalina and Pauline: +20**

 **Peach and Daisy: +17**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: +15**

 **King Boo and Petey: +13**

 **Mario and Luigi: +12**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +11**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: +10**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +9**

 **Tom and Enrique: +8**

 **Wario and Waluigi: +7**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: +6**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: +5**

 **Toad and Toadette: +4**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +3**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +2**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: +1**

The table then updated to show the results of all the races so far, with some changes to the positions compared to last time.

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 50**

 **Peach and Daisy: 49**

 **King Boo and Petey: 41**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 39**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 33**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 30**

 **Mario and Luigi: 28**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 28**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 25**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 24**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 20**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 16**

 **Tom and Enrique: 13**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 12**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 11**

 **Toad and Toadette: 10**

"Well, at least they climbed a few positions." Toby cheered silently compared to the crowds.

"Ha, Tom and Enrique are three points above last place; they'll have to win 3 times in a row if they want to make an impact on the higher positions." George laughed in his seat staring up into the sky to see projections of a star and a hat to resemble the winners of the third race.

"I don't think they have the slightest care in the world about winning, what matters to them... are all the information they can find about Bowser, Peach, Rosalina and Mario. They're the important people in this time; the future is revolving around them and a few others."

"So you're telling me you've got a vision for the future after these races?"

"A few days before the Sirenna incident I was in Aypyidaw, learning and researching about the Red Martyrs. I came across this sort of vault slash library that Muji has in the main headquarters: The M.F. guy. He knows about the whole hostile situation and has known the princess ever since she was a child. He was like her guardian in her childhood after that war."

"Looks like somebody's making use of all the time here." George laughed at Toby watching all the spectators leave their seats after watching the aftermath of the third race. "All those racers are probably bickering to themselves about this and not about the future." It seemed like George was milking all the research Toby gathered over the past weeks.

"Ignorance is bliss my friend." Toby heeded. The two watched from their seats the racers leave the Mushroom Bridge circuit. The stands were filled with paparazzi more than actual viewers now that the race had ended.

"Now what?" George asked Toby.

"We wait till everyone leaves this Island." George reacted against Toby's suggestion. "Tom will surely spot us when we go towards the port."

"I hope so." George got up from his seat and began walking out with the last of the spectators from the same stand. Toby soon followed.

After the announcement of the 12 noon meet at Maple Treeway for the start of that race was finished, the participants' tent was packed up and many of the management crew along with the spectators embarked on the ferries back to the mainland. Over half of all racers had also left by this time, leaving only a few pairs still on the Island. Toby and George presented themselves to Tom and Enrique, who at the time were chatting with Peach, Daisy and Pauline about the race. Further along the flat ground that they stood on, Bowser was having another discussion with Rosalina. The two also saw Junior standing on the edge of the Island looking out to the mainland, alone.

"My friends, I thought I spotted you in the crowd. It's good to see some friends actually desperate to watch us, where are the others at?" Tom greeted the two other Earthlings.

"Jack and Ronald are out for the day, they're back at Seven Farms for some business do. They won't be back till late, that's if they're coming back here. Luke and Jap might be somewhere in the city. Though I did hear Jap say he was going to go fishing near Isle Port this afternoon. As for Fawful, probably back with his kin and Will... no idea." George responded.

"Luke's probably doing the shopping."

"Do you know where Jack and Ronald are?" Peach asked afterward. "And as for Fawful I told the brigade to bring him to me... today." She looked back at Tom. "Perhaps I've got some extra business to deal with when I get back."

"Have you dealt with that mess with Wario?" Enrique asked.

"Yes-yes. That imp of a man will not have any toil with me as from now." Peach grinned.

"I hope we don't lose contact with Will, he disappeared right after that house fire incident in the city." Tom began. "Everyone's already gone over the place again, there just can't seem to be a time longer than an hour where everybody's together again."

"What if he doesn't want to be with us?" Enrique suggested.

"That's not why he's here. I didn't bring him here just so he can loiter around and do anything he wants..." He looked back at the circle of people in the conversation and eventually paused for a short moment. "Anyways, him aside, we have more important people to find. Like Zane and Marrec."

"Exactly, Zane more importantly." Peach turned her head towards Rosalina and Bowser, still in conversation. When she began to approach Rosalina, Bowser ended the conversation and walked off, going towards his son and sitting by the cliff with him.

"Rosalina, I still need you to find your brother for me." Peach demanded, still with a smile on her face.

"I told you, find him yourself." Rosalina snapped back. "Stop coming over to me for answers and expecting it all to come naturally to you, that's not what being a queen is like my dear."

"Might I say-."

"You have no authority over me, now I suggest you speak no further before it becomes worse off for you." She threatened, the crowd gasped, not seeing this type of Rosalina for a long time.

"Very well." Peach ended, going back to the others. Everyone was showing surprised faces as she turned around, but she did not react to that, for in her mind it would be expected. "She's off my list I guess." The group watched Rosalina walk over towards Bowser and his son. The three were about to leave the island.

"She probably doesn't want to talk to me either. Anything not directly involved with racing she will try to avoid me." Pauline mentioned, showing her sham of a friendship between herself and Rosalina.

"She might be looking for him as well, don't forget about that." Toby cheered up Peach.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" She said back bluntly. Toby frowned, looking at Tom. George patted him gently. "I need that man as soon as possible; I should send you all on a hunt for him, especially you two." She pointed at Tom and Enrique. "I don't know who you two are but you can help out as well." She looked back to George and Toby.

"Oh by the way Tom, remember those Koopas you met on Wuhu Island? We saw them here, and then the Brigade took them away because of the one that looked like Koopak Asquia." George disregarded Peach's potential order.

"Koopak Asquia lookalike?" Daisy wondered.

"Yep, Koopol Jautja." Toby responded.

"Those kids? What are they still doing here? Tom wondered. "They're actually wanted."

"Hence they were captured." Peach interrupted. "We're getting our hands on many Koopas belonging to those corrupt families."

"That's clearly not a concern at the moment if all you're mainly caring about is a space dude named Zane and a magical being called Brogadan." Toby added.

"How did you know about that name?"

"What, Zane? That's Rosalina's brother, I'm sure everybody knows whose name that belongs to now."

"No not that name, you idiot, the other name."

"Brogadan? Just read it in a book."

Peach turned silent for a few seconds, creating an awkward silence among the crowd.

"Let me talk to Bowser and Rosalina." Enrique walked off from the group and headed over to the cliff side where the others on the island were. Rosalina and Bowser looked back in slight anger. Fortunately, Enrique was the least of their concerns.

"It's a mess over there, Peach keeps complaining about Zane and now Toby's mentioned some sort of name I have no idea about and now it's all silent." He said, noticing the two were not talking to eachother while they were alone. Bowser Jr kept staring out towards the mainland whilst the other two listened in.

"Ever since he escaped the Castle dungeons I've had no word from him, and that needs to get into the annoying bitch's head. We aren't on good terms and sooner or later she will annoy the hell out me it will only make me disappear back to the observatory as well." Rosalina moaned in front of the other two.

"You've known me for 5 Earth years, I don't think you'll want to waste 100 years of your life going back to that place again. Besides, why would you want to not see any of us again, we've probably made this the best time you've been to Muhu Delfethal."

Rosalina slapped Enrique. "Stop assuming everything you were taught back on Earth is true." She winked to him, knowing that Bowser was completely unaware of the Earth replication. "I'm just a guardian of the shooting stars, I don't disappear for ages. When I mean I'm going to the observatory I mean that in a way where I just won't get persuaded to stay back on the mainland. It's far more peaceful up there."

"Rosalina and I have had a past, but that place sure is comforting even to this day. I'd understand why she'd want to go back there as it would even help her avoid all the future chaos that's coming from the north." Bowser agreed. "It's just that girl... the power has gotten to her. I was only there for balance it seems."

"I'm beginning to not like it either, she's been having nightmares ever since she declared herself queen." Enrique added.

"That's probably why she wants to find my brother. He's known to have nightmares often, but he's used to it unlike her."

"Your brother's a bit of an annoyance around here. First he's a terrorist now he's like some political criminal."

"Aren't we all political criminals around here?" Bowser wondered. The sad truth silenced the other two. Now they just looked back at the others who were still in a conversation.

"I think to get the ball rolling, we should all spend the next 36 hours looking for Zane and Marrec, that way we can probably shut this princess up for now."

"Is she even a queen now?" Bowser asked.

"Technically her line is over, she doesn't intend to marry." Enrique replied. "If she goes the line would either go to Daisy or Princess Éclair. I haven't seen her for ages though."

"I don't even know who she is." Rosalina said. "I guess it shows how relevant she is now." She grinned after.

"Here comes trouble." Enrique said as Tom, George and Toby walked over to them. "I wonder what they were bitching about."

"She wants us all to find Zane, or it's on our heads after the tournament."

"To hell with the tournament. It may be fun but I want her head." Bowser whispered indirectly. He looked towards George and Toby, two people whom he was unfamiliar with. "Bowser Koopa." He offered handshakes to both humans.

"George Martin."

"Toby Jones." They both shook back and smiled. "Seems like the _bad guy_ is nicer than the _good girl_.

"There's no exact good and bad around here, it's like a freakin' flowchart. You two need to remember that." Enrique taught the other two.

"Give me Free Passage and I'll look for him, tell her that." Bowser ordered.

"Rosalina, are you going to look for your brother?" George asked.

"Fuck you." She pointed her middle finger back at him. "Yes I will." She startled the others. "You don't need to remind me about it all the time."

Suddenly, right in the centre of the flat space where the groups were situated in, a bright flare appeared creating a portal emerging from the ground. Everyone became blinded by the brightness of the flare. As it began to dimmer, a figure appeared in the centre revealed by the flare. It was Zane.

"Brothers! Sister." Zane turned around and greeted Rosalina with a lower tone. Everyone was shocked in surprise about the arrival of her brother.

"How did you get here?" Toby asked openly. Zane turned his head slowly towards Toby.

"Bad call." Enrique interrupted the moment. "He doesn't want to be asked those kinds of questions.

"Shut up child." Zane shouted to Enrique whilst keeping his cool. "I'm here for you." He looked at Peach, whose face began to tear up. "You're coming with me. You're going to put us out of our misery." He slowly began to approach the queen, who slowly backed away. Daisy moved in front of Peach, attempting to protect her.

"Stop there, witch! If you want to get to her you'll have to get through me." She challenged, smoothing her biker gloves and clenching her fists in an attack position. Zane lifted his arms up and forced the ground to root up and bind Daisy's arms and legs, trapping her in position, unable to move. She shrieked at the supernatural change of environment. It was the first time she had witnessed Zane's magic directly, of course being at a much stronger level than his sister's. The ground elevated in front of Zane's path, moving him above Daisy and the rest. Peach began to run away from Zane, going on to the hills of the island, but as she rushed away the hills turned steeper and steeper by the work of Zane's magic, causing her to slip and fall back down to directly in front of him. At the same time Tom, Enrique and the other humans made an attempt to save Peach from Zane but they were struck with a harmless deafening blast emitted by Zane from all linear angles, cuffing their hands together in elastic white foam. Rosalina distracted her brother, by tossing starbits at him then using her wand to disable the use of his hands. Unfortunately, Zane quickly pushed his arms forward breaking the binding spell she had casted, forcing Rosalina to slide forward and slip onto the floor. Zane grabbed Peach by the chest and slammed his other fist into the ground, causing another flare to appear, blinding everybody else.

The two had disappeared.

 **EOC: Remember that this chapter has the results of the first three races. If you have any queries please PM me to get something off your chest. I agree that this chapter was OC-heavy, but oh well. This fanfic isn't directly aimed for an audience. I'm sure you'd have all known that by now.**

 **See you next chapter!**


	17. Left Behind

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 17 – Left Behind

 **A/N: Race results can be found in chapters 11, 13 and 16 respectively. The list of racers and their karts can be found on chapter 7.**

 **January 19, 2015 (1) – 4:33PM**

 **Mushroom Bridge Mainland Port, Mushroom Kingdom**

Word had not yet gone out to the public of the princess' disappearance with her fiendish capturer and brother of Rosalina, a girl whose reputation with the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom is diminishing due to her increasing presence around Bowser. After the flare and the two's disappearance, Daisy was immediately set free by the release of the ground's roots. Not long after that, silence was all that was between everyone else, and it continued on until the arrival back to the Mainland.

The main thought going in the heads of Bowser, his son, Rosalina and Pauline were whether or not the races were still going to be held. Mario or Luigi weren't around to witness the disappearance so they're not going to be searching for them. However, several Toad managers and Brigade members were waiting outside the port for the return of Peach and Daisy, only to find out the more important one is missing. The Toads began to talk amongst themselves in shock, surprise and confusion realising she wasn't there. As the remaining racers began to separate, the chief manager of the races approached Daisy, who was walking off the boarding platform.

"Princess Daisy, where is the queen?" The Toad sound awfully worried. "We can't seem to see her on the boat."

"You must all leave, the queen is getting the next return back to here. She needed some privacy." Daisy replied with a sorrowful tone.

"But my princess, how will she get back to her castle?" One of the Brigade members asked, backed up by several castle workers and more members.

"I will escort her back safely, I will have Tom and Enrique help me out as well for they are still here." She pointed to the two who were behind her, not paying attention to her until she mentioned their names. The two noticed the Toads look at them so in response they just waved, hoping it was the right thing to do.

"What shall we do about Bowser and his son?" A Brigade member asked.

"Let him get back on his own, he clearly isn't allowed to commit any harm and by now he understands and abides to this rule. Your work here is done everybody." She sent away the Toads, knowing that some of them thought something fishy was going on.

"That was a close one." Daisy turned around and spoke to Tom and Enrique, then looked to see who was still here. "Who's left?"

"Pauline's gone, but I told her not to tell anyone about what happened on the Island." George responded rather cheerfully. "I say we let Bowser and Junior leave without any further interruption now."

Daisy noticed Rosalina still talking to the two Koopas, but after a while she watched her shake hands with Bowser and watched the two leave, she eventually turned and walk over to the rest of the group. Daisy didn't seem overly satisfied with Rosalina's newfound friendship with the ex-nemesis to the crown. But the fact that neither of them was responsible for the disappearance of her best friend she had no choice but to stick as friends with the two.

"So, what was that all about?" Daisy asked Rosalina, making the other four stare back at her.

"Nothing really, he just said good luck next race and hopes I'm well for it." Rosalina replied. Daisy wasn't sure whether she was telling the truth or not.

"I'll agree to the fact that he does seem a lot nicer now than what he used to be before." Tom stated. "But I guess that's a bit biased since I saw him in a different way than you have in the past few weeks.

"He said he's annoyed at my brother for what happened on Wuhu Island, but he said he also had no interest in trying to attack him just earlier. This punishment has lost the fight in him." Rosalina explained.

"Good, that's what... is supposed to happen." She began to stutter in front of the others. "The rest, with the benefit of hindsight, could've been treated more fairly. I don't call the shots around here anymore."

"Well if Zane kills Peach then the crown passes to you since you're the only one eligible. Tell that to the public and you'll become the one to." Enrique mentioned. His words disheartened Daisy and made her more worried. Tom grew caring over the change in Daisy's expression; he went over and wrapped his arm around her, Daisy immediately grabbed the arm and hugged it.

"I wouldn't like to think she is dead for the sake of power. I'm not into it like she is. I've witnessed the troubles she's had with it, including the neglect of Mario." Daisy growled back to Enrique. "Why can't you be more like Tom?"

"If Peach was in your place, she'd ask Tom 'why can't you be more like Enrique?'" Rosalina added out of spite, causing George and Toby to laugh.

"Well I want you all to look for the Queen-."

"Slow down sister." Enrique interrupted. "There's nothing we can do against a witch like Zane. Besides, Rosa said that the two both have those nightmares. Perhaps she's getting captured for a good cause."

"That better be true or I'm gonna purposely throw shells at you next race." She threatened the blond earthling.

"How can you do that?" Toby joked. "He's always in last place! Ga-hahahaha!" Toby and George burst into laughter, but the two's joy soon came to an end when they noticed everybody else had straight faces. "Now's not the time is it?"

"Let the girl be." Tom unwrapped his arm around Daisy and then crouched in front of her. "Everything's going to be fine, the races are the law and there's no way she won't be able to attend the next one. So in 36 hours at most she'll be back and ready for your company."

"36 hours? What am I supposed to in all that time?"

"I don't know, sleep? Meet Luigi? Don't tell me you do _everything_ with Peach." Daisy gave a genuine expression back to Tom, who then sighed.

"Ju mund të keni për ta okupoj këtë vajzë." Enrique sighed as well, talking to Tom.

"Let's get back to the castle. What are you going to do, Rosalina?" Tom looked over to Rosalina, standing slightly outside the circle of people, indicating a lack of attention from her.

"W-whatever I've got nothing to do." She stated. "I'll go back to the castle for your sakes."

Tom looked back to Daisy and smiled. "I say we have ourselves a plan..."

 _TWO HOURS LATER..._

The six arrived outside Toad Town; the place seemed pretty occupied with castle workers, probably awaiting the return of their queen. From what the others saw, it seemed like they didn't know she was gone, thankfully.

"Daisy, I suggest you alert the workers here that the place needs to be cleared away so they won't notice that Peach is gone." Tom asked, looking around at all the Toads patrolling the roads. Unfortunately, before Daisy emerged from the bushes at the back of the Town, Tom noticed a large bunch of Brigade members guarding the front entrance to the castle. He quickly held Daisy back before she could get out. "Wait." He said. "There are so many Toads there, how are we going to go about this?" The six watched and eventually saw a Toad worker rushing towards the Brigade members from down the path of Toad Town.

"Be quiet guys, we need to hear this message." Enrique stated, hushing George and Toby who were whispering amongst themselves. None of them could get a good hear into what the Toads were saying amongst themselves, but the shock on some of their faces from what the messenger just said led to the idea that perhaps they now know that Peach has gone missing. All the Brigade members guarding the outside of the castle rushed down the paths and headed towards the Toad Town entrance, leading to Mushroom City.

"I think the news has spread." Rosalina whispered. "They must have found out from somebody managing the ferries." As the group were still trying to see what was going on with the other Toads in Toad Town, a vibration was buzzing from one of the earthlings' pockets. George was receiving an incoming phone call. Tom looked around and asked who it was. As George got the phone out from his pocket, the contact read 'Luke'.

"Put it on speaker." Toby suggested as George answered the call.

"Hello?" George said.

"Hey, what's up? Did you enjoy the race?" Luke said on the other end.

"Yeah it was pretty cool, I'm here with-." Rosalina silenced George by blocking his mouth. "Just Toby at the moment." George later said as she removed her hand from his mouth, she shook her head indicating not to reveal anybody else.

"Oh right, you coming back to the place? I got us some good food for dinner. Gold coins are worth tons in town, still expensive compared to the other towns though. Anyways, I gotta talk to ya about something, I been hearing people say Peach disappeared, s'it true?"

"Yeah definitely, Tom here." Tom butted in to the call. "She's been taken away by Zane." Enrique and Rosalina looked back at him with a frown.

"Hey Tom, what's up? That sounds rather dark; I hope she gets found later, the town's starting to get a little worried."

"We gathered. We couldn't do anything about it as well." Toby stated.

"Wait you said you were there with just Toby, who else is there?" Luke seemed rather concerned.

"Me, Daisy, Rosalina, and the rest you've already heard." Enrique butted in.

"Right..." Luke added after a few seconds. "Where are you guys at now, perhaps its better if you come to the penthouse in city?"

"Not sure, we're at Toad Town, maybe come bring Jap over here with the food and we can stay at the castle?" Rosalina peered into the distance, where she could see the entrance that separates Toad Town and Mushroom City, but it looked like the Brigade members that were guarding the castle had completely sealed off the entrance. It became locked up with dark steel walls and fencing only reachable on the Toad Town side. She turned around to check if the entrance into Toad Town that they came from had been sealed. It seemed like more Brigade members were about to do the same thing: lock it up with dark steel fencing. Perhaps the Brigade and the castle workers are working together in trying not to expose Peach's disappearance to the public.

"I don't know, the entrance to Toad Town looks completely sealed off, me and Jap wouldn't be able to get in. And besides, Jap said he wouldn't be back till seven thirty and I told him I was going to be at the penthouse to let him in. I can't leave and have him trapped outside not knowing where we'd be. The guy doesn't have a phone." She overheard Luke on the speaker.

"Luke, how did you know about Peach disappearing, who told you?" Rosalina asked on the phone, hoping what she thought was right.

"I overheard it from some Brigade and Police earlier; they seemed rather quiet about it though."

"That's because they don't want the public to know, thank the stars. We'll have to get to the penthouse then. We'll crash there for the night." Rosalina suggested.

"Well good luck trying to get out of Toad Town." Luke laughed from the penthouse. "There're about ten guards standing outside from where I can see the entrance."

"But that's on your side though." George could see the penthouse from Toad Town, standing tall amongst other buildings in the city. "Doesn't seem as occupied on this side, we just gotta make our way out. George instructed a point for the group to travel to so they could escape through the freshly cut bushes. Directly south of the castle was the same forest that led straight down to the coast, perpendicular to Isle Port. Thankfully there were no Brigade members monitoring the southern edge of the town. All seemed rather quiet just metres away from the town on the south side; none of the area was built up or affected by the Toad management. "We'll see you in ten minutes." George ended the call and went on with the rest of the group, getting past the delicately cut bushes and eventually into the quiet forest.

The sun began to settle on the southwest horizon, the view was so clear the group could actually see the coastline, despite being miles from it. And with that, they spotted a familiar human who was carrying buckets of fish and a backpack probably containing a disassembled fishing rod or more fish in containers. Rosalina and Daisy had never seen this person before, but George and Toby quickly hurried over to the exhausted looking man that was Jaapayo.

"That's the fisherman?" Rosalina questioned to Daisy, both were standing behind the rest.

"He seems a bit too handsome to be a fisherman if you ask me." She replied.

Jaapayo had a tall build, with a similar face to that of Tom's. Jaapayo was also slightly taller, hair was short but thick, and red whereas Tom's was a dark brown. Daisy's affections were weakened for Tom for seeing someone look very similar to him. The two both had brown eyes, similar hair styles and build.

"All these guys look really similar if you ask me, and none of them are brothers? They look more alike than Mario and Luigi." Daisy looked at Rosalina, who was also studying the appearance of the five guys in a crowd, trying to distribute the fish between each other.

"Enrique is the blond one, also wearing black." Rosalina began. "Tom we know is the heavy-and-brown haired one."

"Yes I know those two awfully well, and for a long time too."

"George is the short-and-brown haired one, similar height to Tom." Rosalina continued. "Toby is the shorter one, he's also brown haired but his shortness makes him stand out amongst the rest."

"Aren't there others in that group of people, two more friends of Tom and Enrique?" Daisy referred to the two of the group that were not present, Luke and Will.

"So we have Tom Tûnis and Enrique Calaghal, then there's George Martin and Toby Jones. The other two are Luke Loggins: a shy blond guy with short hair, his hair's like Enrique's but shorter. The other guy is Will Rodneyras: he's darker skinned, that should be all you need to know to distinguish him from the crowd." Rosalina finished.

 **A/N: For help with imagining, Will heavily resembles the look of Axel Brodie from the YuGiOh GX Franchise. I have updated Chapter 11 to have his appearance description near the end to be the same as that in this chapter. This is what he is supposed to look like.**

"How do you know their names so well?" Daisy asked whilst watching the group return to them.

"Because I've spent a lot of time with these imbeciles, but they're all different in their own way. I'll explain this to you when we get back. What are we going to do with all this fish?" Rosalina redirected her voice to the others, who seemed very energetic talking amongst themselves. She noticed Jaapayo stood behind the rest, as if he didn't want any attention whatsoever.

"Well." Tom began. "It looks here that Jap caught us a lot of fish that he said was going to be _our_ dinner for the few days while some of us stay in the city." He made up, accounting for the fact that Jaapayo used to collect fish daily for Bowser and those who lived in Bowser's castle.

"I wouldn't want any of that fish anyway." Rosalina snapped back. "I'll pass."

"Anyways, let's get moving back to the penthouse, hopefully we won't be held back by many citizens today." George suggested, carrying his bucket along with the other boys back to the open area next to Mushroom City. Daisy and Rosalina eventually followed on after.

"I don't like that new guy, he looks very sinister if you ask me." Daisy muttered to Rosalina.

"He does seem shady, I'll agree with you there. He's too quiet." Rosalina agreed, paying close attention to him. She took account for the fact he didn't talk much to the others on the journey. It was mainly the other four talking amongst themselves about what the others might be up to, what's the deal with Zane or what cool things to do tomorrow and in the future.

 _A FEW MINUTES LATER..._

Luke opened the door to all the rest who came in to the penthouse. To those who had rested in here before, they noticed it was spotless; all cleaned up. As well as just shop, Luke had prepared meals and refurbished the place, cleaning up a lot of the mess that was there before and creating a lot more space to move around.

"Damn Luke, you really upgraded this place while we were gone. I really appreciate that." George thanked Luke as he let everybody in. He startled however as he saw Daisy and Rosalina arrive as well.

"Oh look, if it isn't you two beauties, come on in." He cheered. The two didn't seem moved at all by Luke's flattery.

"So, status report." Enrique said. "Where are the others?"

"Well as I said before, Jack and Ronald won't be back until late."

"And Will?" Everybody listened in, but only saw Luke go silent for a few seconds.

"He's out there." Luke mentioned quietly. "But he only wants to speak to you Enrique." The others looked confused in response to what was being said. "He's not in the best of moods."

"I wouldn't disagree to that; he's been missing these past few days without the slightest idea of where everything is." Toby added.

"He's not a fan of the franchise." Tom whispered to Rosalina, who nodded in acknowledgement.

"What franchise?" Daisy questioned.

"Nothing." Tom cheered awkwardly back. Daisy turned her head to Rosalina who looked back at her with fake confusion. "Anyways, I say we get ourselves some dinner, we got fish or whatever Luke's made for us." He cheered again, gathering up the others to the seats by the kitchen. He waved over to Rosalina and Daisy convincing them to join in. "I suggest you go and see what's making Will moody to not see the rest of us." He whispered to Enrique, sending him outside to the balcony.

"This is so not me." Daisy whispered to Rosalina, sitting on the end looking at the others munching on their meals. She looked down in disappointment to the slushy look of the bits and pieces that was collected up and served into one meal. There was hardly any meat on the plate either. Luke spent a lot of time in the day at the common food market collecting fresh vegetables.

As for Enrique, he headed out to the balcony view and closed the door behind him. To his left he saw Will resting his feet on top of the balustrade and slouching on a chair next to them, looking out into the view of the city. The balcony spanned three sides of the building block so they could even see Toad Town from here.

"I've been told you wanted to talk to me only." Enrique began, attempting to interact with Will, who seemed disobedient still looking upward to the dark but colourful skyline. "I heard you disappeared the night of the building fire as well. Don't you think you have some explaining to do?" Will eventually lifted his shoes off the balustrade and sat up straight on the chair, looking back to Enrique.

"I wanted something to do. For the time I've been here I've almost always been following around the others, this place seems so vast and open and full of things to do. I want to be free, like you." He responded, in a way Enrique wouldn't have expected him to be. Instead of the idea of being bored Will became thrived with interest. "I've kept a low profile ever since I came here, I just need a way to learn about transport and where everything is and then I'd be happy to set off and do my own adventures." Enrique sat down next to Will and tried to speak as nicely as possible back.

"I'm afraid to tell you this but without experience this place is far more dangerous than you think and you will have a lot of trouble exploring. Distances are pretty vast between certain places and most areas will require the use of the Metro. You're lucky to evade a lot of the troubles that has happened over the past few weeks. Had you not went off the ship before you lot arrived in Sirenna Beach you would've gone through a lot of troublesome work. George, Toby and Luke have all suffered even in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"The Mushroom Kingdom isn't interesting to me though. I want to go up north. I want to see what it's like living without rulership." Will sighed, thinking to himself about what he wants to do whilst looking back down to the city.

"Well the more north you go the more dangerous everything becomes. I've witnessed murders in the north. Are you telling me that doesn't frighten you? Luke gets frightened whenever he sees an incident happen."

"Yeah well I ain't like that man; remember back in the school days it was always us two doing the most joyous things. Don't you remember?"

"Will I barely remember my family; this place has a lot of things going on. Tom and I had nothing to lose hence we kind of stayed here. All I remember is the fact I finally left Earth for good a couple weeks ago here."

"Yeah well I had nothing to lose either. The only reason I'm here is because my mama passed away on Boxing Day. My dad... I never really knew him either." Enrique got up and peeked through the window to see if anybody was listening in. He saw the two girls on one end of the long kitchen table, followed by Tom, Luke, George, Toby and then Jaapayo on the end next to an empty seat.

"Listen Will." Enrique sat back down. "If you want fun, then stay up tonight. I'll take you up North; we'll be going to Aypyidaw to see how the Red Martyrs are doing with the Hostiles. Maybe we'll see some murder. How about that?"

"I don't want anyone else coming though, just us two." Will asked. Enrique was tempted to disagree, but he decided to be generous to Will this time and not tell anybody else about the outing.

"Alright, now I say you go back inside, eat some dinner and engage with everybody else, some of them are probably worried about the way you're behaving. You've got a long night too." Enrique smiled shortly before opening the door back inside. He led Will through the door and made everyone else turn around and smile at their return.

"Hey guys, got greens and potatoes here for both of you, I hope you like it!" Luke greeted the two, preparing their meals on plates. There were two empty seats, one on the end next to Jaapayo and Toby, and one on the other side next to Rosalina. Enrique went over quickly and sat next to Rosalina, with Will walking slowly to the other seat in between Toby and Jaapayo. As they both sat down, the atmosphere turned quiet and slowly becoming awkward. Will only looked down while his meal was being served by Luke, who got up from his seat and went over to the other side to the kitchen. The table was 'C' shaped, with no seats on the inside for it was where Luke could serve the food from the kitchen space.

"So then Will, you feeling better? Tell us about that house fire we knew you went to." Toby interrogated in a nice way, still pestering Will. George and Luke both listened in. Before Will began to speak he looked to his left to see if Jaapayo was listening as well, but he looked completely zoned out whilst he was eating some fish.

"There's nothing much to say about it. I only went to it to have a closer look, I had a feeling of helping out but when I checked inside everybody had been cooked already." Will explained, creating a mourning feeling for the others as they listened.

"I guess that is rather sad, do you know anything about who might have done it?" Tom asked.

"I thought it'd be that Koopak guy, but no evidence. Brigade said they don't know who did it either."

"There's a massive batch of flowers on the pavement next to the burnt house." George added.

"I wouldn't doubt it." Will began to eat his meal, going through it rather quickly. He watched all the people to his right talk amongst themselves again. He saw Tom talk to Luke and George talk to Toby, he thought now that this meant he'd have to start talking to Jaapayo, still looking rather lifeless.

"H-hey, we haven't met yet. I'm Will." He offered to shake Jaapayo's hand. Surprisingly he turned back at him and shook hands.

"I'm Jaapayo, and yes we haven't met. I'm just kind of tagging along a bit until I next see Bowser." Jaapayo replied. The mention of Bowser made Will far more interested in talking back with him, considering the fact that Bowser was one of few people Will deeply knew about here.

"You know Bowser?" "Shh." Jaapayo attempted to quieten Will, pointing to Daisy secretly. "Mustn't mention that name out loud to her, it will make her angry."

"Oh right, my bad." Will replied anxiously. "Does that explain all this fish you have?"

"Yeah, I used to be the Fishmonger of Bowser's Castle, but then I realised I don't do that anymore. I kind of just fished for dinners here I guess." Will grew interested in knowing more about this guy, mainly because he wasn't like the other friends who came from Earth.

"So, you from Earth?" He asked.

"No, but I have been there before. I'm surprised you asked, people are usually supposed to keep that thing a secret around here. They don't want to be exposing anything to do with Miyamoto here."

"Who's Miyamoto?" Jaapayo looked back at Will with deep surprise.

"Now that _does_ surprise me. Let me finish my dinner." He delved into his vegetables. Will looked up and stared at Enrique, who was in a conversation with Rosalina and Daisy. He tried to get his attention without making other people notice. He also tried to listen in to what the three were talking about. All her could decipher was the mention of POW blocks and thunderclouds. Something he was told about in the past being items used in the races. Will kept looking at Enrique and raised his head slightly in order to eventually get his attention. Enrique looked back at Will but said nothing, only made the expression of the fact he is paying attention. Will made a small gesture pointing to Jaapayo and then made a thumbs up, signalling asking whether or not they should bring him out tonight as well. Enrique only Gallic shrugged back.

"You got any plans tonight?" He asked Jaapayo.

"Other than sleeping? No."

"Good." Will smiled, finishing up his dinner. It seemed by now almost everybody had finished their meals. The group watched Tom get up and let out a big yawn.

"Well that was ravishing Luke, thanks again for a great meal." He cheered.

"Terrible if you ask me." Daisy whispered to Enrique and Rosalina.

"Sorry we don't own half the money in the world." Enrique said back.

"You lot eat like clowns, it disgusts me." Rosalina joked. "Anyways, I'm going to the observatory. See you on the 21st!" She headed outside and vanished quickly going up to the stars. Daisy then looked toward Tom.

"I'm going to the castle. I need to get out of this outfit and stuff. Thanks for the help at least, I'll see you tomorrow maybe, if not then the day after." She left soon after, with others saying goodbye to her.

"Looks like its back to the gang again." George laughed.

With the time being almost 11pm now, the group ended up doing their own things within the penthouse. Some watched TV showing recorded coverage of the race, spotting out those watching and looking at how the race turned out. After another hour or so the last people awake went into the bedrooms. Toby had already crashed out on the sofa with Tom on the big chair next to it. George eventually went to sleep on another sofa in the main room of the penthouse, leaving Enrique, Will, Luke and Jaapayo left for other remaining spots, including two in the main bedroom. Thankfully there were enough spaces even for Jaapayo since the first time they were all here they had Jack and Ronald with them too. Enrique hinted to Will to sleep in a bed in the bedroom so they could sneak out more easily.

"Will and I are gonna take the two in there." Enrique mentioned.

"Alright, I understand." Luke replied rather softly. "I hope all is well with you my friend." He referred to Will, annoying him slightly for caring too much.

"Look I know, I'm alright now. You don't have to make it awkward." He responded aggressively.

"Alright fine." Luke shied out. "Jap which of the beds do you want to take?" Luke whispered, trying not to wake up anyone else in the room.

"I think I'm going to sleep on the balcony, it's too hot in this room, and besides, no mosquitoes." Jaapayo said quietly. "I don't really like sleeping in here." He slowly walked away from the others, heading outside to get the fresh air from the southern side. Luke watched him leave and turned around after to see Enrique and Will already close the door behind them. Now all he was to do was lie down on one of the sofa beds and sleep for the night...

 _2:20AM – JANUARY 20, 2015 (1)..._

"Hey bro, come on, let's go." Enrique whispered into Will's ear whilst quickly tapping his shoulder, attempting to wake him up. Will's eyes opened slowly but then after a while they opened wide after he realised why he was being woken up. He turned around on the bed and sat upright, supporting his back with his wrists.

"You been sleeping?" Will asked Enrique, who was peeking through the doorway whilst the door was ajar. Enrique nodded back, checking to see if everyone was asleep. Tom was fast asleep, George was snoring, Toby was sleeping, Luke looked asleep but it probably wasn't deep sleep.

"We have to be very quiet." Enrique signalled for Will to go out of the room quietly and sneakily. As the two opened and went past the door, they crept slowly towards the main door to the penthouse. Will looked to his right to see if he could see Jaapayo outside. He decided to try and sneak past the sleeping others to go outside and check on him. Enrique had reached the front door by this point, and waited patiently for the others to return. As Will opened the door his face felt a light gust of hot wind brushing past. The sounds coming from the streets became easier to hear and appear a bit louder inside making Will immediately close the door again gently, still inside. He waited a bit before attempting to go outside as quickly and as quietly as possible. After this he sealed the door tight, looking straight ahead in relief. The warm breeze filled him with a euphoric sensation and the view down on the streets gave him a feeling of warmth. Will looked to his left to see if Jaapayo was sleeping on the bench... he wasn't. Will walked around the balcony to the west side, the space followed on all the way to the north side of the building, where he could see another bench and a few chairs, secluded in shadows. No city lights were shining on this side of the building, which led to the reason why he found Jaapayo on this bench and not the one next to the chair Will always enjoyed resting on. He watched him, looking fast asleep. But since he mentioned the idea of going out to him, Will still went over to wake him up.

"Hey, it's me." He nudged Jaapayo, whose eyes only opened slightly. He turned his head slightly to see who it was.

"Which one are you again?" Jaapayo replied, half-asleep.

"Will, we spoke at dinner. You're coming with us." He grabbed Jaapayo's hand raising him up slightly.

"It's the middle of the night, when you said plans I thought you meant before everyone went to sleep." He was quickly hushed by Will for being too loud.

"Don't wake the others up; they don't know we're doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Enrique's at the front door, it's just me you and him, we're going up north." Jaapayo groaned.

"Fine, but why?"

"Because for once we're going to have some thrills." Will eventually got him off the bench, but waited for him afterwards while he rubbed his eyes to make them stay open. "You just gotta be quiet on our way down, trying not to wake anybody else up."

"Alright." The two crept back to the south side where the entrance was. Will quietly opened up the door and forced Jaapayo inside, closing the door behind him as smoothly as he could. Enrique saw the two and opened up the front door slowly, letting the three out of the penthouse without making any sound that would wake up the others. After two minutes, the three had exited the building from the ground floor and started walking along the main street on the pavement. There were barely any moving cars or pedestrians in sight.

"First stop, train station?" Will suggested. "We've all got small coins to pay for the fares?"

"I've got thousands." Enrique replied. "I've got a card I can pay for us all. Let's just hope we don't get stopped at the station by Toads."

"Why would that be?" Jaapayo asked. "Fares are cheaper at night time."

"It's the fact that it's night time." Enrique stated. "Three humans heading on a northern-going platform at three in the morning, do you think there's anything sinister about that?"

"I guess." The two replied as they made their way towards the Mushroom City train station. As there was nobody nearby, Enrique led the two over to the card-use area of accessing the train platforms once they were there. Mushroom City was one of few cities where travellers would have to pay a fare to leave. Other areas where this was the case include Wuhu Island, Toad Harbour, Mushroomheath, Delfino Capital and Sarasaland station. As Enrique used the card to open the barriers, he rushed forth dragging Jaapayo and Will with him, getting them all through before the barriers closed. Now that they were into the platform area, Enrique checked for the times of the next trains. On the plus side there were very few citizens in the area, on the minus side the trains were rare at this time of night. However, Mushroom City is the biggest train station.

 **4 min – Sirenna Beach (M) – P2**

 **6 min – Castelia Station via Zephenwood (R) – P13**

 **10 min – Aypyidaw Station via Donut Plains (R) – P11**

 **13 min – Donk City via Symaer (D) – P5**

 **15 min – Seven Farms via Gelato Beach (M) – P4**

 **20 min – Wuhu Island – P7**

"Aypyidaw is the place we wanted right?" Will asked Enrique, also looking at the platform times. He watched Enrique say anything back, he was too busy thinking about what to do.

"Do you know what we're doing?" Jaapayo questioned Will.

"Yeah, but Enrique's deciding the route and stuff." Will replied back, pretending he knows his way around the place. The two watched Enrique murmur to himself about the trains, eventually coming up with a plausible idea to tell them.

"See in order to see the council we should go to Aypyidaw, but if we go to Castelia it would take a lot less time." Enrique finally spoke to the others. He noticed a barricaded entranceway to his left that led directly from the overground to platform 2.

"Let's go to Castelia, then we could probably get a train from there to Aypyidaw, it will take us less time." Will decided. He pointed over to the right end of the area where there was a sign indicating platforms 13 to 16, these were another floor below and serviced routes heading directly north or northeast. Will started going over to there, with Jaapayo following him a second later. Enrique started approaching slowly with his head towards that barred-off stairway to the overground, giving him a sense of familiarity from weeks back. As they reached the platform there was still 8 minutes to go before the train was due to leave the station. The doors to the train were not yet open and all they could see around them as a Koopa minding his own business reading some newspaper. The Koopa looked rather bulky compared to others, but did not turn his head to see the three humans.

Eventually, the train's doors opened and the three got on board. The train was at a termination point meaning nobody else was on board; it looked like the train would be pretty much empty for the three of them.

 _This is the Platform 13 Service to: Castelia via Zephenwood. Calling at: Mushroomheath, Moo Moo Farm, Mushroom Gorge, Northeast Port Village, North Port Village, T_ _â_ _skan, Nutusa, Zephenwood, Umbrock, and Castelia._

Enrique was a frequent user of the trains going from Mushroom City to Castelia or Aypyidaw, but he couldn't recall ever going past the two stations Tâskan and Nutusa before. On the interior sides of the train there showed linear maps showing the route of the train's journey and the destinations it surveys. When he saw the two unfamiliar names they were marked with an asterisk, indicating that these routes were only served at night time. For safety reasons, citizens who live in those towns will be able to get home off peak so they stay away from any potential threats or danger within the countryside. This was perhaps a rule passed down by either Peach or any Toad of high rank in government. Enrique understood why for during the day there would be very few or no people stopping off at minor towns like those two. Enrique stood next to the doorways to the train, whereas Will and Jaapayo were lounging around along the empty seats on each side. Enrique looked out of one of the windows to see if that Koopa was still on the bench on the other end of the platform; he was missing.

"You gonna sit down Enrique?" Will asked him while seeing him stand up by the doorway. A brief sound went off indicating the doors were about to close.

"Yeah, I'm just having a look at somethiyaii-!" Enrique was grabbed and thrown off the train immediately as the doors were about to close, trapping him outside. He fell onto the floor directly in front of that same bulky Koopa on the platform.

"Enrique!" Will jumped up from his seat and reached for the open button for the doors, but the doors did not open. Instead the train started to depart from the station slowly. Jaapayo looked out the window and watched Enrique get dragged around by the Koopa before they eventually lost vision of the platform. "Fuck." Will said again.

"What do we do?" Jaapayo asked from further down the carriage.

"Enrique will get out of this, I promise... We will meet him in Aypyidaw, hoping he'd get on the other train."

Enrique was lifted up and then thrown against the wall at the back of the platform. His shoulders and arms were bruised from the landing. Soon after the Koopa grabbed Enrique by the legs and pulled him closer, driving a quick punch into his chest.

"Did you forget about me?" The familiar Koopa's voice, revealed to be Illias, shouted as Enrique fell to the floor again.

"I thought you were in that apartment during the race?" Enrique replied, trying to get up as quickly as possible. Illias slowly approached Enrique as he raised his upper body from the ground.

"You told me it would be safe, shortly after you abandoned me the Brigade came for me and captured me. You lied to me!" Enrique ran toward the end of the platform to stall as much time as possible and to calm down the Koopa. He did not look like someone Enrique could beat in a fight.

"I didn't know they'd find you there. I'm sorry! I'm clearly too busy to manage someone like you." He tried to calm him but it didn't seem to be effective.

"I've been chased by Toads all day! I'm trying to get the first train back to Castelia and you and two others show up instead."

"We could've helped you! We would've been able to get you back there safely. Illias leave me alone I am not your enemy." Enrique had his back against the side wall of the platform, his only choice was to either leap onto the track or attempt to get around Illias using the narrow space that was the waiting area.

"I'm a wanted Koopa, human, and now so will you." Illias stopped approaching Enrique and quickly ran up the stairs to the main area of the station. Enrique tried to follow on to see what he was doing. The Koopa was heading straight for Platform 11, trying to get on the Aypyidaw train before it departs. As Enrique saw the Koopa dash on the train before it departs, he ran immediately on to it as well but on a different carriage. He wanted to go all the way to Aypyidaw to see Illias back and then hopefully meet the other two there, hoping that they stick to the plan.

 _This is the Platform 11 Service to: Aypyidaw via Donut Plains. Calling at: Fathor, Eve's End, Medulis Dacarron, Sarasaland South, Sarasaland Central, Sarasaland North, Wakehill, Idlam, Leaf Town, Palmwood, Donut Fort Town, Donut Plains, Hulam, Suhen, Donk City, and Aypyidaw. Change at Sarasaland Central for trains to: Seven Farms, Delfino Capital and further areas west. Change at Donut Plains for trains to: North Downs and the Wuhu Kingdom._

"This is going to be a long fucking journey." Enrique moaned to himself as he slouched in his seat. The doors closed and the train went off immediately after. There were 16 stops on this train line compared to the 10 on the train Will and Jaapayo were on. They're more likely to arrive at Aypyidaw by waiting for another train at Castelia before Enrique would arrive there. This train would be expected to last an hour and a half, and at three in the morning it wasn't likely for Enrique to stay awake for the entire journey. After a few minutes just before the train was due to arrive in Fathor, he slowly dozed off to sleep while lying on three seats on the train...

 **4:57AM – Aypyidaw Station**

Coming from Castelia to the east, Jaapayo and Will got off their train at the station. The sky was still dark and the place seemed completely lifeless. The two decided to check for any sign of Enrique on any of the platforms, hoping he would be here by now since he only had to take one train.

"Have you seen him anywhere?" Will called from one side of the main area of the train station to Jaapayo. Neither of them could see any signs of the guy around. There were no trains on the platforms other than the one they both arrived in.

"Maybe check the board to see if there're any arrival times." Jaapayo suggested. All the two could see from there were the times of departures. Only one was being shown back to Seven Farms in 22 minutes.

"Let me ask somebody at the help desk, maybe they know." Will rushed over to a Koopa security guard in an outfit with similar colours to the colours worn by the Toad Brigade. "Excuse me sir, do you know if there were any trains that came in here through Mushroom City?" The Koopa looked back at Will and smiled.

"Yes at 4:21 there was a train that arrived here from Mushroom City. Fifteen minutes that train went off again heading southwest for its last service line of the night." Will looked back at Jaapayo with frustration, knowing that Enrique is either out and about in Résethal or still on that same train because he overslept.

 **5:26AM – Somewhere...**

 _There are no more stops on this line, this train terminates here..._

 _There are no more stops on this line, this train terminates here..._

 _There are no more stops on this line, this train terminates here..._

Enrique woke up on the same train he boarded on, but when he looked out the window he didn't feel like he was in Aypyidaw, all the surroundings seemed more colourful. He got out of the train as quick as he could and saw the station looking much smaller. Several minutes later after finding the exit of the station he found himself walking atop a hill surrounded by green grassland. There was a sign behind him and at the front of the station building, Enrique turned around and read: _Turinth Station_. This certainly wasn't Aypyidaw, it wasn't even Résethal... it was Wuhu.

 **EOC: Another chapter mainly composed of one scene. However, the next race will occur in the beginning of the nineteenth chapter, it all depends. Also I appreciate the PMs, doesn't affect motivation though haha. Also answer that poll folks on my profile if you have an account, will be much appreciated.**


	18. King Boo and Petey

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 18 – King Boo and Petey

 **A/N: Race results can be found in chapters 11, 13 and 16 respectively. The list of racers and their karts can be found on chapter 7. Who even puts disclaimers on anymore, you know what's what.**

 **January 20, 2015 (1) – 11:25AM**

 **Somewhere in the plains of the Mushroom Kingdom**

Four friendly figures strolled through the plain grasslands enjoying each other's company before the next race. The notorious red plumber now only sought comfort from his brother and his true friends: Yoshi and Birdo. The other three felt the sadness in him after understanding the full story on how Peach has now neglected him for good. He made no interaction with her during the last race and dared not to ever set foot into the castle again until something between them happens on a significant scale.

"Will you look up for once, brother?" Luigi confronted Mario whilst they were walking the plains in near silence. Now that Mario was feared out of the castle, he didn't want to ever rest in Mushroom City either, so their place of residence became Sarasaland. Since Daisy and Luigi were still 'together', she allowed them to stay in the dormitories of the castle of that Kingdom. It did give Mario a slight reminder of Peach, but it was the best place other than the castle. Nowhere else seemed as local, as home-comforting or as high class. The lifestyle in living in a castle is far wealthier than that of a regular citizen's home or hostel. Mario did not want to be involved with a nobody either.

"Yoshi hope you not sad forever; think of nice green grass and food. That's what gets me through most days." Yoshi smiled and attempted to cheer up Mario.

"I was the Pizano, now I'm irrelevant. It's those stupid boys from Earth that annoy me." Mario finally spoke, looking up for once as well. "They've all appeared in the spot light all of a sudden since Bowser's defeat, which was mostly my doing!" He groaned.

"You know, it was kind of all our doing Mario. Besides, if it wasn't for Rosalina's brother Bowser never would have gone to Wuhu Island and surrounded himself around our Brigade forces." Luigi mentioned. "It was actually Zane who is responsible for the defeat of Bowser."

"But it was Peach who made this stupid contract, the Double Dash contract. She has taken full power and hypnotised the people into watching this tournament, sapping away their earnings as the races go by."

"Don't think of it like that." Yoshi said after launching his tongue out to eat a plant. "This is the biggest tournament to date and I'm grateful to be part of it. It's everything else happening at the same time that is causing you fear. Tom and Enrique being part of the race has caused all those other humans to be everywhere."

"Those boys are fucking around with the princesses, acting like they own the place." Mario became angered at the mention of Peach again. He stormed forward in a tantrum. "I'm going back to Daisy's castle. Believe me Luigi you'll be next. Tom will get his hands on Daisy and you won't be able to do anything about it. We too have to change." He gave Luigi a conspiring thought about the humans now. He too did find Tom rather annoying and disturbed at the fact that he was spending too much time with Daisy. Tomorrow he thought to actually do something about it. As Mario went ahead, Luigi followed quickly, talking to him about what they should do tomorrow to the other humans. Hopefully he could give Mario the energy and willpower to confront Peach once again and see if he could turn the tables for the good of him and his brother. Further back, Yoshi and Birdo eventually couldn't catch up, so they spent the rest of the morning chilling in the plains and eating up nutritious plants.

 **3:40PM...**

Far underground and far beneath an abandoned haunted mansion, in a place not discovered by the Toad Brigade or Patrol, another partnership involved with the races spent their time in between each one. King Boo delved around, phasing through the brittle walls of an ancient library, reading tomes of old about indoctrination of the magical arts. An old belief used by few even before his own time of being human. At the same time, Petey Piranha was not far from him, in an open area of a cave, simply entertaining himself with an old striker ball he has been using most days since the two have gone into hiding together.

"Will you ever stop reading?" Petey questioned the ghost king whilst doing kick-ups with the striker ball. King Boo didn't reply back, instead he only carried on studying another tome. The two only decided to show up above ground for races then immediately return back to the caves afterwards, expecting no sound but the loitering and conversation they have with eachother. Their dwelling spanned miles of chasms and passages that had been abandoned for hundreds of years. But for the first time in weeks the two began hearing footsteps that weren't Petey's. King Boo phased out of the library and hid himself behind a stalagmite on the edge of the giant open cave, in darkness and hidden from sight. The footsteps were coming from above and near the old library. Petey hid behind the stalagmite shortly after he spotted a shadow appear on the stairs that led to the passages above the old library.

"Who could possibly be here? Nobody who is mortal has ever set foot so deep underground in these caverns." Petey whispered to the ghost king.

"Nobody mortal indeed." King Boo spotted the human figure, slowly trekking down the stairs to the library. They both saw the tall, slim male. Dark navy hair and a navy outfit. He was silent, only looking for something amongst all the books on the shelves and the recently-used sheets of paper left on the tables. He began to sense the fact that somebody was around, hiding. He turned around to look into the open area on the other side of the giant crack in the library walls. The luminous crystal shards on the walls of the library were what gave light to some of the space in the cave. The three were in one of the lowest depths of all the cave systems in the entire land. Zane gathered several papers, including the one that King Boo was just using, and took them all with him back up the stairs. Petey peered forward to get a better glimpse of Zane but it made him stop moving halfway up the stairs. Petey froze, still in the shadows. The human dropped the tomes and slowly walked backwards down the stairs, looking out to the cave. The two beings hidden within tried making no sound at all as they hid behind the stalagmite.

Zane stepped forward out of the library and stood on the soil of the cave. He turned his head around, circumnavigating the area slowly, going even slower when his head was facing the two hidden behind the stalagmite. Both King Boo and Petey were unsure whether or not Zane spotted them, or at least knew that they were there hiding.

Eventually, Zane turned back and headed up the stairs with his tomes, leaving the room and proceeding through the dark, sealed chasms. King Boo slowly phased through the cave, floating up to see Zane walking through the passages silently. He told Petey to stay back in the cave as the movement could probably alert the human. Boo followed him all the way along the passage, eventually taking a right to go toward a dead end with a blue-flame flambeau placed in a pocket-crack of the cave wall. Zane placed the tomes on a giant smooth rock in the centre of the small cave and used his hands to create a magical flare to light up the area, the flares turned into small blue flames encircling his hands. He passed the flames together to both light up brightly on his left hand. King Boo moved further away from the cave walls, still phased in the ground. He watched the human grab another unlit flambeau with his right hand, using the flame on his left hand to light it up. Finally, after placing it in another pocket-crack he reached his hands out to sap some of the light from both flames, fusing them together in front of him and altering its colour to a bright white. Zane launched the white fire up to the ceiling of the cave, lighting up the cave and he centre pebble, revealing a familiar unconscious figure next to the tomes. The same figure was that of Princess Peach, lying flat on the large pebble, presumably sleeping or under a daze-laden spell. King Boo watched attentively at what Zane was going to do next; he grabbed one of the tomes from a side of the rock next to Peach and recited it in his mind, quickly sifting through the text. Zane moved around and went down on his knees in directly front of Peach. Shortly after, he began reciting words quietly, placing his left hand on her forehead and his right hand on her chest at the same time. Now that his eyes were closed, King Boo phased through the wall, still silent but trying to hear what Zane was saying. He could only hear mumbling and couldn't gather anything he was saying.

Within a few seconds, Zane lost hand contact with Peach's body and slowly fell and rolled over to her left, asleep next to her.

King Boo went closer to see if Zane was still conscious, he nudged him with his small arm to check; definitely unconscious. He was confused both at the fact that he brought Peach down here, making him question how he got his hands on Peach in the first place, and the fact that he put himself unconscious with her. The ghost king picked up the last used tome and tried to read it. The sheet was blank. He even tried getting as much light onto it as possible to see if there was any secret writing, after a few seconds of attempts black ink appeared on the page and formed into a word.

' _Unworthy'_

Seconds later the letters morphed together and eventually faded away from the page. King Boo dropped the tome and let it fall to the floor. Behind him was Petey, eventually showing up from the passage behind him.

"How long have you been there?" King Boo asked, just after noticing Petey.

"Ever since he started performing all that magic." He replied. "When he made the fires and put them in the torches." He approached closer towards the two unconscious people on the floor. "This looks super creepy." He added.

"He performed some sort of ritual that made him unconscious, soon falling next to Peach. Beats me as to why and how the two are here, and that Peach was already sleeping." King Boo took another closer look at the two; they both still looked alive, just asleep... in a deep sleep. The two waited around for ages to see if they would eventually wake up, but nothing seemed to happen...

...

After the ritual, Zane fell asleep immediately and woke up a second later in a dark, hazy environment. The landscape was purple and foggy, exactly how it used to be. This time he externally entered the dream, giving full use of all his senses and no cuffs to a tree. The landscape however was freezing cold and full of blushing winds giving him shivers. He had been in this place for many occasions, so he was familiar with where things tended to be. The ground was filled with purple smoke but he could still trace a darker-looking path which could potentially lead him back to the bed where Peach always used to be. As he slowly ventured along the path he came across an invisible barrier. Each bit of contact created a small ripple which spread along the barrier. Zane tried to stick both hands into the barrier to try and open it up vigorously, but upon opening it up he saw pitch black, literally cutting through the hazy plane. It looked like a void to him. His fingertips were past the barrier as he ripped it open, and the darkness on the other side felt as cold as the most isolate areas of space. He quickly closed the invisible barrier to try and warm up his hands using fire magic. After that Zane tore out another big hole into the void and threw his fire in. The flame kept going on forever until it became so far it wasn't visible to the eye.

He closed the hole again. The only thought he had now was that he wasn't going in the right direction. The barrier was straight and it carried on to his left and right. Zane rushed to his left off the path and followed the barrier until he was hit with another perpendicular barrier in front of him. Now he quickly rushed along that one until he would collide with another barrier, figuring out the boundaries of the area, despite the fact it looked like the purple haze would go on forever. As he went further along he met back with the path going in the other direction, Zane ran back onto the path and rushed ahead. As the path went on he eventually met a near-end. He noticed a familiar tree in the distance; it was the same tree he remembered being latched to for several dreams. As he stopped he began to hear the slightest sound of voices. Two to be exact; one being that of his target: Princess Peach, the other to be that same dark and overwhelmingly spooky voice he heard each time he was here.

"Somebody else is here." The spooky voice said; the first thing Zane could hear properly.

Behind several thick trees to the right, a large cloud of fierce shadows emerged. "I know you're around there." The voice said again, not coming from the shadows. Zane readied his hands for any magic to use as the shadows came closer. After charging up some flames, he created a barrier of fire around himself, trying to stop the shadows from getting closer. Slowly he formed the fire into a rectangular wall shape and pushed the flames away from him and towards the darkness, sending the shadows back around the thick tree corner. Zane quickly rushed forward and launched himself up in the air with flames in his hands. He turned to his left to see a larger group of shadows and Princess Peach further behind the shadows on a bed, looking exactly like a smaller version of the girl's royal bed in her bedroom. Peach was also cuffed to the bed backboard, having no use of her arms. At the same time still in the air, Zane launched the fireballs from his hands at the shadows, creating flares and assumingly harming them in the process.

"Fight me directly, you coward!" He shouted at the shadows, spreading out after being affected by the fire. In seconds it looked like the shadows became completely immune to the fire.

"You will never stop the inevitable, nobody can, not even you." The shadows replied, sending shivers down Zane's back and dousing out the flames. "The time of shadow is near, only until it sees justice served shall I finally prevail."

"So you only seek to scare us in our sleep?" Peach cried from the bed, taunting at the shadows. The groups of darkness joined together and formed a human figure.

"One day... darkness will consume you so much that it will be what puts you to eternal sleep. It has already started with your rise to power." The darkness said back to Peach.

After a few more seconds the darkness enlarged from figure form and rushed towards Peach and Zane quicker than the two could react to, blinding them in darkness and forcing them out of the dream.

...

Peach leaned up straight and screamed from inside the cave, waking up to see that she had no idea where she was. She looked to her left and saw Zane, waking up slowly by opening his eyes smoothly. He heard her rapid panting and waited for her to slowly calm down before getting up as well.

"Where are we?" She asked Zane, still on the ground. "How were you not cuffed? How were you not affected by the darkness as much as I was and why were you not there for as long? How did you get all that fire and where did you come from?" He waited for Peach to finish asking all her questions before saying anything.

Zane got up and rested on his wrists and looked back at Peach. "I attempted to cleanse the shadows." He said, and then looked straight forward again. "It didn't work though." He looked around to see all of the sheets of paper on the floor, some looking worn and about to tear. Nobody else was around, but he had a slight sense that somebody was watching him whilst he was asleep.

"Hello? Bitch? This doesn't answer all of my questions!" Peach yelled back at him. "How did I get here? Wherever here is..."

"I banished you here, and tried to learn how to stop these dreams from happening." Zane was speaking far quieter than Peach was, showing two opposite ends of a spectrum of calmness.

"But how did you appear in the dream?" She asked again.

"I put myself to sleep by reciting a curse onto myself using your body." Peach turned sensitive, backing away from Zane and being weary with her body. She looked at the biker outfit she still had on but it still looked pretty pristine. "I only tried to help you. I needed you to try and stop the nightmares." He knew that Peach was still pretty lost in all the knowledge behind how and why these nightmares happen to her. He saw the confused look she had on her face when she got up to look at all of the tomes on the floor. The text all appeared gibberish to her and he expected that to change for her viewing.

"You're telling me the curse is on one of these pages? I can't see anything." She kept moaning.

"Of course you can't. You cannot see it with your eyes, for you have not learned or mastered any of the magical arts associated with it."

"So it's like all of that magic you and Rosalina know; the stuff that causes you two to fly?" Peach growled, looking at all of the pieces of paper to see blank texts.

"It's more complicated than you think. Arcanery such as this can take years to master." Zane sadly put it back to her, trying to convince her at the same time that he was doing his best to help make things better for her. "In simple terms, you're not worthy, and nor is Rosalina worthy."

"It's happened ever since the races started, and I still don't know why and who is responsible for this." Peach complained once again, sitting down after looking at all the tomes.

"I only know a little bit more about it than you do."

"Oh yeah? Tell me about it then, who else is worthy besides you?"

"As far as I know, I am the only person that you know who does, and I don't really know anybody else either. Not in these lands I believe."

"So you're telling me you're the most knowledgeable person when it comes to magic, like how does it all work? Do you learn spells like what the fables used to teach us? Or is it far more complicated than that?" Zane began to feel slightly fed up with all the questions Peach was asking him, so he sat up straight with his back against the walls of the cave. He lit up a blue flame with his right hand and pointed it out to Peach.

"To become one with magic takes a lot of time and responsibility and a lot of self-teaching techniques, and a hell of a lot of patience, it takes even more compared to that to become a magus without the use of a magic wand. I am the only one in these lands who is able to do it without the use. It took a lot of time." He looked over to the tomes. "There's an ancient library down one of these passages containing thousands of them, I barely know 1% of them."

"I had never known this place existed."

"No Toad knows of this place's existence. It dates back well before their time." Peach sobbed and looked to the floor, wishing she could just live and do what she needs to do for the good of the kingdom and herself without any psychological obstruction. "There is one thing I should say that will be very useful to you though."

"What's that?" Peach looked up and asked immediately.

"The shadows that you see in those dreams... They're all part of the same being, which goes by the name of 'The Ancient One'. Some books in the library have a lot of things written about him, and they say he knows 100% of all known aspects of magic and sorcery, including ones that haven't been discovered by anybody else in the thousands of years of knowing about them to be written on paper. Some of the tomes date back well before even my time, or King Boo's time. Speaking of King Boo, I swear I noticed him some time around here."

"You did." King Boo phased from the wall on the other side of the cave and appeared behind Peach, startling both her and Zane.

"You dwell here often." Zane said to the ghost king.

"Indeed, whenever I'm not called for a race and that is because of you." The king pointed to Peach. She went silent, hoping Zane would resume a conversation between himself and King Boo. "I too have known about this place for years, yet I lack the capability now to master the tomes myself in this body. I do miss my old self." The king moaned. "Now all that entertains me are the races and reading. Not even Luigi visits the mansion anymore."

"You're not exactly worrying about the fate of your life though." Peach spoke. "If you heard about my message before then there wouldn't be this problem of isolation."

"Your message, about surrender? And what exactly have I got to do with Bowser? I have no quarrel with that Koopa anymore, I never really did. It's your fault you made that choice, hence why I've been here all this time."

"And Petey?" Zane asked.

"Here as well, he's hungry." King Boo turned around to see if Petey was nearby, but he heard no sign of the being.

"I will address a message to grant most of you freedom, but I cannot guarantee you social safety, you're feared by the people." Peach mentioned. "It would look very bad on me to let somebody like you roam the lands."

"I wouldn't be dwelling in cities if that's what you're thinking." King Boo laughed. "I would only go to the places that matter to me and rest whenever the time to ride isn't here. Speaking of that, you need to rest if you want to do well. I haven't lost any mojo being down here." He taunted.

"Anything can still happen, and besides, are you even ahead of me and Daisy?" Peach laughed back.

"Your reign of first place will not last, there have only been three races so far." King Boo warned.

"I really did miss out on this, I wonder what it would have been like if I took Marrec on this." Zane wondered.

"You'd probably be banned immediately." King Boo and Peach giggled. "Maybe one day."

"After Bowser's passing." She added.

"Hah, that is quite a shame though. He's a completely different person whenever there was a tournament going on." The three went silent for a few seconds; as if they all had a slight feeling of mourning for the day Bowser would eventually go if he doesn't win. They all thought his chances of succeeding and escaping death were very unlikely.

"You're not such a bad person after all, Rhonaward." The king said to Zane cheerfully, he smiled back and grinned.

"I would say your true name back with great honour, but a young one is around." He laughed and looked at Peach.

"Ha, maybe she will find out one day." The king smiled. "She has a lot to learn." Peach got slightly annoyed about the overload of knowledge that she had just been told about but not known.

"You're both still annoying to me." She said.

"After this event, and the toil with the hostiles, maybe then will we teach you matters above the people." Zane stated. "But now I say you get some rest. I assure you, you will sleep well tonight."

"It doesn't feel early at all though." She complained.

"Peach it's very late, I put myself to sleep many hours ago; you will rest easy now." Zane informed King Boo to leave the cave. "Lie down now; you do not want to show up late to your race. Just dream of victory." He smiled, before getting up and sitting now in front of Peach. He told her to put her head flat on one of the smooth rocks of the cave.

"What about the others, don't people know that I haven't been around?" She worried.

"You will sort that soon enough, I will help you with it too." Zane comforted. "I'm not a bad person; it's all a matter of opinion."

"But I."

"Shh." Zane quieted Peach, just before putting his palm on her forehead. She watched him close his eyes whilst sitting up and mouth some words in his mind. After a few seconds she became very tired and closed her eyes slowly, falling asleep.

"Goodnight, Princess." Zane released his hand and got up, looking back down on the sleeping Peach. He walked a few metres away from her and then quickly vanished using the same flare technique as he did before when kidnapping her.

 **January 21, 2015, 9:45AM**

 **Mushroomheath, Mushroom Kingdom**

Enrique eventually found his way back to Mushroom City, hoping to find Tom there to go to Maple Treeway before it's too late. He was hoping Tom would know where Maple Treeway was as well since he had no proper clue as to where it could be. He only wished he could have some sort of map to help him find where each track is. He was unsure on all of the others too, except for Koopa Cape, that one is a given. He wondered if it would be a risk for the public since Koopa Cape lied on the coast near Urscan, Résethal. The Toad Brigade would have to operate maximum security to prevent any unwanted hostiles coming in and spoiling the race.

 _The next station is: Mushroom City. Change here for services running to the west, east, or the southern train service. There are no more stops on this line, this train terminates here._

The announcer's dialogue sounded unfamiliar and not the typical voice over for when trains come inbound to Mushroom City. However what was stranger was the increased amount of security he saw at the platform. There seemed to be Brigade guards everywhere, and that some of them were actually waiting for him when he got out of the carriage. As the train stopped and the doors opened, he watched some guards come to his carriage, for he was only one of few to be on it. Nobody else seemed suspicious enough to be involved with Brigade so they went out first.

"Enrique, come with us, this is an urgent matter." The Brigade leader of the small squad spoke out as he got off the carriage. He could still hear the recurring words of the announcer in his head as he got off, making it harder for him to focus and listen.

"What seems to be the problem?" He asked back, stretching his body whilst surrounded by the guards.

"I believe you would have witnessed or heard about this as well, but the princess is currently away so we need you to take matters in to temporary charge until she returns." The Brigade leader said. Enrique's eyed widened in fake surprise.

"Wait, you want me to take charge of the kingdom whilst Peach's gone? That's a terrible idea. You need to elaborate your reasoning on this."

"She has disappeared, we are unsure how. If you have any traces or leads to it please let us know. But for now you must come with us and we will also escort you directly to Maple Treeway at 11:00am." Enrique grinned back at the Brigade as they started to leave the station. He looked around to see any citizens attempting to eavesdrop. He saw some waiting at the platform and some boarding the Mushroom City train going outbound back to Seven Farms and beyond.

"Cuff me." He winked back to the Brigade squad leader. "That's impossible; you can't do that to me!" He yelled sarcastically. The Brigade began to cuff Enrique up and take him with them back to the castle. "I have some leads." He whispered to the Brigade as they left the train station and placed him inside one of their security vans. He sat in the back with three other guards whilst the other two were in the front seats driving off.

"My first lead is that it occurred on the island, straight after the race and when all the viewers had left. The person who did it was none other than Rosalina's twisted brother!" He narrated to the Brigade. "He came out of nowhere with his magical powers and seized the pr- Queen. I tried, we all tried to stop him but his magic was too powerful, not even the likes of Rosalina could stop him from capturing Peach and shortly disappearing off with her. I haven't seen either of them since and have no clue on where they could be now. I only hope that Zane knows about the next race and will return her to Maple Treeway before the race commences at noon." The Brigade listened to his words carefully and wrote down notes corresponding to the witness.

"Do you know anybody else besides yourself and Rosalina who saw it all happen?" One of the guards in the back asked.

"Yes, Daisy is a key witness. You need to ask her." Enrique replied, but was quickly interrupted soon after.

"We have already asked Daisy, you see when we asked for you to take charge we didn't mean full charge, you were only to be what Daisy is to Peach... to Daisy, for she is the one currently in charge right now. Thankfully all the people still think Peach is doing just fine, it is only the workers of the castle, the Patrol and the Brigade which know about her disappearance. We found about it almost instantly." The second guard in the van mentioned. "She said you and Tom were key witnesses as well, and she asked us to ask you for the names of the boys who were also there."

"The names of the two boys were George and Toby, I'm not sure where they are now but they're probably around town somewhere." The van eventually got to the gates of Toad Town, heavily guarded by Toad Patrol. The van waited for the doors to open to let the van in to go straight down to the castle entrance. "So, how did you find about Peach's disappearance almost instantly?"

"We have security cameras in a lot of places, we managed to have one catch some of the event on the corner, that's why we couldn't get much from it. All we really saw was some flares and then she never made it back to the mainland." The guards replied.

"Talk about security improvements with those accords." Enrique joked as the vehicle came to a stop. He was forced out by the Brigade and removed from his handcuffs. At the doors he saw Daisy, Pauline and Rosalina outside waiting for him to approach them. From what Enrique could gather he assumed that Daisy had already told the brigade all she knew about it.

"You sent them for me?" He asked Daisy and Rosalina.

"This would have been a whole lot simpler if you hadn't snuck out of your place that night with Will and Jaapayo, the Toad Brigade was lucky enough to find you being the most important of you three." Daisy replied, not looking happy at all.

"We called Tom over yesterday to meet with the Brigade and tell them about what happened and it was all nice and easy since it wasn't only a few hours to the race. Thankfully they've been generous enough to escort all three of our teams to race 4." Rosalina mentioned.

"Tom should be back down shortly, he's been sorting out some things in Peach's headquarters." Pauline added.

"Yeah, about him I hope he knows where all the races are. I kind of don't know where Maple Treeway is let alone where most of the next ones are, I can barely remember the names of them either." Daisy did not change her disappointed look after hearing Enrique's response. She had been working all morning and yesterday on preventing the exposure of Peach's disappearance to the citizens.

"I say we leave now. I'll go and get Tom." Rosalina suggested, opening up the doors behind her and rushing away into the castle. Daisy turned back to Enrique looking extremely pissed off at him.

"This is no time for joking around, we're trying to maintain the laws on this land and if the citizens find about the Queen's disappearance, the whole world will go crazy. Hostiles will find out and start coming down from the mountains and slaughter all of our innocent people!" She slapped Enrique in the face to try and divert his attention.

"I gathered that, but I assure you Zane is a wise person. He will return Peach before the race begins, we will have to go there without her." The Brigade listened to Enrique, seeing him as wise as well.

"Fine, when Rosalina is back with Tom we'll venture into Delfino for Maple Treeway." Daisy ordered the Brigade to bring in the transport. In Muhu Delfethal, Maple Treeway was part of the Forest of Illusion and it looked slightly different now as it was the summer. It lied in central Delfino, only a few miles southwest of Allam Junction; the nearest train station. It was almost 10:15, and Rosalina had just returned with Tom, they were all ready to depart en route to the next race. Daisy went with Rosalina and Pauline in a separate vehicle to Tom and Enrique, and they all began their hour long journey on the highways straight to Allam, turning off to go down a large hill leading straight to the summer forest.

 _11:09AM..._

Peach was awoken by the bright sunlight atop a hill on the edge of the Forest of Illusion. She saw giant wigglers at the bottom and a figure standing right behind her. When she turned around she actually saw two others, two much larger looking figures. One being King Boo and the other Petey. The first figure she saw was Zane, looking rather happy.

"Alright, I'll send Peach down in a few minutes, you two go over to the starting area." He looked to see spectators surrounding all the edges of the circuit, including the small house next to the cliff. "Listen to me now, Peach." He turned his head back to the young girl, still in a biker outfit.

"I need you to perform well in this one; we must leave no traces of the past few days. You also need to trust me from now on. I'm doing as best as I can to help us have good night sleep." He looked directly into her eyes and waited her response.

"I will, as always. About trust? Don't be so confident on that one. You may be doing me good but that can't repay what you did in the past." She didn't look overly happy despite having a proven good night sleep just earlier.

"I'll be watching." Zane ended. "Now go, make your people proud." He sent Peach off down the nearby path going straight to the racers' area before the majority had arrived. She headed straight to the management area before going to the participants' tent. She saw some racers, but they didn't notice her fully. Some of them didn't even know she had disappeared over the past two days. She was happy the Brigade kept it well hidden had they know about it too. When she arrived the workers and managers diverted their attention to her and saluted. Some cheered at her return.

"My Queen." A Brigade soldier spoke first. "Shall we operate a mission to search for Zane? We also have some news for you about Cackletta. We found her and Fawful and a bunch of other hooligans but they turned themselves in and surrendered yesterday."

"Leave the hunt for Zane aside for now." Peach replied. "I will deal with him myself after this."

"But my queen, what happened with you?" A toad manager asked.

"Leave that for this evening. We have a race to start. I also want Ballyhoo at Koopa Cape; we'll be doing the announcements live to the people about nine to twelve in two days. I will do the sorting for the racers after this one." She went over to some other workers dealing with statistics concerning revenue from the past races. The total amount of seats from the stands at Maple Treeway ranked highest so far with 123,000 as an approximate value. Currently going at two gold coins per ticket, and with all the viewers paying in from external streaming, she was raking in millions of coins every race. She had made more money already from this tournament than the total of any previous major tournament sold tickets in the past. She then had a temptation to increase ticket prices from 2 gold coins to 2.5, meaning an extra fee of fifty mushroom pounds (which equated to half a coin) were to be paid in as well. Peach saw the box with all the remaining race choices still inside, nobody has checked that box since the first day Peach announced the first races to the participants.

"Come on people; let's start revving up the crowd volume." She ordered the workers. She went over to the tent as the workers began playing preparation music and displaying up the current scoreboard.

 **POSITIONS:**

 **Rosalina and Pauline**

 **Peach and Daisy**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr**

 **King Boo and Petey**

 **Mario and Luigi**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong**

 **Tom and Enrique**

 **Wario and Waluigi**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek**

 **Yoshi and Birdo**

 **Toad and Toadette**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu**

 **SCOREBOARD:**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 50**

 **Peach and Daisy: 49**

 **King Boo and Petey: 41**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 39**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 33**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 30**

 **Mario and Luigi: 28**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 28**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 25**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 24**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 20**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 16**

 **Tom and Enrique: 13**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 12**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 11**

 **Toad and Toadette: 10**

As Peach entered the tent, she saw almost everybody. Before she could head over to Daisy and Rosalina, who didn't yet notice her, she was stopped by King Boo who was by the entrance with Petey.

"Ah, oh." She turned her head towards the ghost king, who was waiting very patiently for the race to begin. "King Boo, what did he tell you?" She asked.

"Peach, don't worry about it for now. He told me everything, but I kind of knew about it anyway. Meet with me and Zane after the race, we'll tell you everything you need to know then. The race is about to start soon." Peach looked at the time and noticed there was only ten minutes left before noon. She went over to the centre of the tent and gathered everyone's attention to her.

"Oh my god she returned." Daisy whispered to Rosalina and Enrique just before Peach began speaking.

"Participants, I must make an announcement before the race. First of all I appreciate you all for attending the first four races promptly. I see everyone is here, which is a great job to you all. Secondly I need you all to stay for a short while after this race, here I will be announcing the ninth to twelfth race so you lot know before the people know. They will be informed at the beginning of Koopa Cape, where Ballyhoo will also be there doing another ceremony. I'm sorry if it bores you but it brings the people together with excitement."

"Can I destroy you now?" Bowser questioned rather angrily, making several others laugh. Peach looked slightly embarrassed instead of furious and willing to respond back to Bowser with a similar tone; she grinned back to try and cover up the sad look that was just on her face and pointed to the way out.

"Funny, now let's all get to our positions." Peach led the set of racers out to the start line where all the karts were. The front four composed of a large Twinkle Star, Mach Bike, Flame Flyer and Piranha Prowler, whereas the back four vehicles composed of a Concerto, a Bullet Bike, a Wild Wing, and lastly a Bubble Bike. Peach waved and blew kisses to the crowds who were spectating from the closest booths, just before she encountered Daisy, who was one of the last to arrive onto the track. She rushed over to Peach and gave her a big hug.

"I'm so glad you're back. You need to tell me _everything._ " Peach hugged back, warming Daisy's heart as she did not expect such a nice response from Peach considering how she has acted over the past few days.

"I feel much better now. It's time for us to put this one in the bag as well." Peach said happily.

"Not before we take it from you first!" Pauline smiled.

"It's good to see you again, Queen." Rosalina cheered. Peach felt amazed on the inside hearing Rosalina address her in that way for the first time. Perhaps her rise to power was going well for once. She waved back and giggled before turning her head over to Bowser, who was standing by his vehicle cross-armed and looking disappointed whilst Bowser Jr was getting on to the back of the kart. Peach's smile disappeared quickly as the two made eye contact. Just to the left of her vision she noticed King Boo close his mouth and look back at Peach, giving an appreciative nod before getting onto the back of the Piranha Prowler. Lastly she turned to the back racers to try and look for Tom and Enrique; they weren't so far at the back this time. They were at the front of the third row, directly behind Mario and Luigi. As she looked at Enrique he looked back at her as well, sadly Mario also noticed and diverted his eyes to Peach as he was sitting firmly inside his B Dasher Mk 2. Peach shook her head to focus before the race would commence.

"Daisy?" Peach asked just before the preparation music stopped.

"Yes Peach?"

"Could you drive for this race? I want to be on items for this entire one if that's ok with you."

"It would be my honour, now we're more likely to come first!" Daisy joked and smiled back at Peach. She got off the back and moved into the front seat as Peach walked around to the back. The music began to fade and the course lit up with items and coins. She peered into the distance and saw the rope near the end of the race was not there. It wasn't windy enough to have that enabled here. Vehicles began to rev up as the Lakitu came down on his cloud carrying the traffic light. All the racers watched the colours also appear on the flag above the starting line for those who couldn't see the traffic light at the back.

It went red, red again, amber, and then green, and like that all the racers sped off ahead. This time every racer had a starter boost...

 **EOC: Next chapter will have the results of all four races and the announcement of further races. I don't think I can maintain having to have a race every other chapter, it may sometimes be one every three chapters as well. Remember to vote on the poll on my profile.**


	19. Maple Treeway

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 19 – Maple Treeway

 **An important message is at the bottom of this chapter.**

 **January 21, 2015 – 12:00PM**

 **Maple Treeway, Central Delfino**

The fourth race of the ultimate grand prix had begun, with all racers successfully boosting from the start line. The pack became all compressed together as they reached the first set of items before reaching the cannon. Partners like Rosalina and Pauline, Bowser and Bowser Jr, and Funky Kong and Cranky Kong trailed to the back to wait for the next set of items to reappear, intending to get far better items such as bullet bill or star to speed ahead when they catch up with the rest. As a result of this, leading the pack in front by about a second was Peach and Daisy, who drove onto the cannon before everyone else. She was shortly joined by King Boo and Petey, Mario and Luigi, and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, and then everyone else. As Peach and Daisy landed they drove by a leaf pile to reveal a Mushroom, which they used to their advantage to gain an extra speed boost to secure their lead. Daisy was greatly impressing Peach so far as they just turned around the first branch-bend onto the flat treetop. They collected triple bananas as they passed the second set of item boxes. The two secured themselves such an early lead that they became unable to hear the sounds of the racers behind. Daisy quickly wheelied them across the flat treetop before any Wigglers became an obstruction. Peach looked back and laid a banana down as they drove past the next set of item boxes. She could only catch a glimpse of Bowser's head at the branch-bend before they turned to the right along the second branch-bend.

Further behind, Bowser and his son's use of a bullet bill put them into second place, barging through Toad and Toadette and Tom and Enrique during the usage of the item. Unfortunately for the other racers who stayed behind for the items, they only received stars, which helped them gain a few positions but they were still stuck in the middle pack of racers. Bowser Jr spotted Peach and Daisy driving along the dash panels as Bowser drifted around the wigglers, destined to catch up with them and overtake soon enough. They had already managed to secure a six second lead ahead of them. Behind Bowser were Mario driving and Rosalina driving. Luigi at the back of the B Dasher was aiming a fake item box whilst Mario was carefully manoeuvring through the Wiggler paths. Rosalina wheelied through the Wigglers as well, being able to successfully drift right next to Bowser as they reached the third set of item boxes. Out of nowhere Pauline lunged a green shell to try and hit Bowser, he quickly drove out of the way of its course and instead watched the shell bounce back and hit Mario and Luigi who were just behind the two. The stun of the item caused them to drop from fourth to ninth, now racing directly behind Hammer Bro and Fire Bro, whom of which Fire Bro had a POW block in his hand. Bowser Jr picked up a red shell, but was unsure whether to launch it ahead or keep it at the back for defence. When they made the sharp turn to go back down into the tree, Bowser caught sight of Peach and Daisy, already by the glider ramp to drive down to the last part of the lap.

"Keep it behind Junior." Bowser grinned to his son as he predicted a blue shell to start speeding down the track. One thrown by Tom soon past them as well; Bowser was right.

"Bananas incoming!" His son alerted as he watched Rosalina and Pauline send three bananas ahead as well as driving through bushes to spawn some items. Bowser quickly manoeuvred past them to get onto the bridge inside the stem of the tree, securing their second place. Rosalina and Pauline dared not to try and overtake them with a wheelie, knowing they could be knocked aside and sent off the bridge. Both racers performed tricks when they went off the red ramp before going onto the glider ramp to get them to the last part of the lap.

"Nice start to the race." Bowser Jr smiled as they were halfway to the bottom. Instantly after, the sky darkened and the racers were struck by lightning. As they fell down to their doom before being picked up by the Lakitus, they heard the laughs of Tom and Enrique as they were still gliding. They were not shrunk nor were they under the effect of a star or a bullet bill. Instead they had used a mega mushroom just before last place used the lightning, so they just about avoided the negative effects of the lightning.

Several seconds later after everybody had risen back to normal size again; the racers became divided into four groups. There were the two duos in the lead further ahead by a landslide being Peach and Daisy and Tom and Enrique, who were already on the cannon. Next was the group of racers Bowser was stuck with. He was compressed together with about five other duos, so his position was varying as they passed the first set of items on the second lap. Behind them was the third group of racers, only two seconds or so behind. Lastly were the people at the back. Racers like Toadbert and Toadsworth were far behind as they were not very experienced with racing in Maple Treeway.

As Daisy landed from the launch of the cannon onto the track, Peach turned her head to see Tom and Enrique, itemless, but creeping up behind them.

"Peach, throw the bananas at them!" Daisy said whilst turning around the bend. Peach refused.

"No, let's keep them in this position; it's better to do that so we can secure a good lead." They passed the second set of item boxes. Peach laid the bananas behind the kart to be attached whenever she wanted them to be. Her next item was a green shell. The two were pretty decked out with defence for now. Enrique drifted around the tree-bend behind the two and caught up on their tail, driving slightly to the right, avoiding both the bananas and the Wigglers. Tom had three mushrooms in his hand. Daisy drove along the centre of the treetop, losing sight of their rivals in second. As they passed the Wigglers they saw Tom and Enrique now in front of them, with Tom having two mushrooms in his hand.

"Let them have first, there'll be a blue shell eventually. Just protect us from item collisions." The two now in second place passed another set of item boxes but didn't receive any new items. Behind Peach and Daisy was nobody else to be seen. It seemed like the commotion in the middle didn't change much since lap 1. As they drove across the dash panels Peach turned her head to spot third and fourth place: Funky Kong and Cranky Kong and Bowser and Bowser Jr. After them was a swarm of racers all with items in their hands.

"Just focus on driving Daisy." Peach warned as she saw Daisy turn her head slightly to the right. "Keep behind Enrique's tail, I'll tell you if there's a blue shell incoming." In fact, there wasn't actually any sign of lightning or a blue shell for the rest of that lap. Instead they happily cruised just behind Tom and Enrique as they passed the finish line onto lap 3. Sadly for the two princesses, Tom and Enrique still had a mushroom left to use, so Tom used it to get across the short cut quickly and secure an even greater lead. The time difference between Peach and Daisy as they drove past the first set of items boxes and the third place at the time being Bowser and Bowser Jr was a massive ten seconds. The two had just performed a trick on the sides of the last bit of the circuit just before Peach and Daisy went on the cannon. This was the first race so far to have a significant lead last throughout at least one lap. Bowser and his son were destined to catch up, or at least play it safe this race and secure third place. But now that they started to see racers like King Boo and Petey and Rosalina and Pauline rush forth just behind them things did not seem to go as they wanted to.

"We got incoming, dad!" Junior pointed out as they crossed the line, heading to the first set of item boxes and collecting triple green shells. Junior was yet to deploy them as he still had a red shell attached to the back of the kart. He intended to launch it forward hoping to hit Peach and Daisy after they landed from the cannon launch and then use the triple shells for defence. Whilst in flight on the cannon they spotted Rosalina and Pauline behind them, along with a blue shell going at rapid speed heading for the current leaders, who were already on the top of the tree at this point. The two noticed Pauline had a bob-omb in her grasp, aiming for them. When the two went for the second item box, Bowser Jr released one green shell backward, seeing the swarm of racers in the middle of the positioning. He couldn't tell if he hit anybody as he lost vision of the area after Bowser drifted around the branch-bend. The two also spotted Peach and Daisy close by in front, the gap between them had massively thinned due to the Wigglers intervening on the top. However, for those in the lead, their gap increased greatly after luckily finding a star from a leaf pile just before they were to be hit by the blue shell. Tom and Enrique were unusually in the lead, let alone being so far ahead. As they entered lap 4, Peach and Daisy only just reached the glider point, not far ahead of Bowser's kart and Rosalina shortly after. The gap between second and the rest began to thin for the fourth lap, yet it was still unknown whether or not there will still be a gap between first and the rest, Tom and Enrique weren't the best at getting perfect drifts to maintain a lead and now they were eventually losing their gap.

After another minute of massacre and leading on to the final lap, the crowds went wild to see Tom and Enrique still in the lead, but this time they were only just a few seconds ahead of the other professionals all creeping up behind them. Within ten seconds of using the cannon, another 10 karts and bikes used it as well, the pack was compressing together. Tom and Enrique still had their lead for the moment, with three bananas securing their defence as well as a fourth banana in Tom's hand. He had learned that he can still throw items whilst having one used for defence.

"Come on Enrique, we're almost there." Tom motivated, just as they drifted just about well enough to get around the branch-bend. The two went along the side of the top of the tree to get away from the Wigglers, but as they turned back around they spotted Rosalina and Pauline overtaking them when they reached the third item box. They looked to see Peach and Daisy toss a red shell from their right side. Tom fortunately still had a banana on him, which he threw directly against the oncoming red shell to counter the item's effect. As they drifted around they saw Peach and Daisy inwardly drift to get ahead of them, putting them now in third place. They needed an item to try and secure their position. When they went to drive up the half-pipe to get an item, they couldn't help but watch Bowser speed around the inside with a Mushroom, the two were now in fourth; their lead had gone.

"Drop the bananas at the bridge; nobody is getting past us anymore." Enrique said angrily. "We need to finish high this time." They saw crowds of racers approaching them from behind, all with strong items. King Boo and Petey were just behind them, and then there were 3 others behind them too. Tom put the bananas down and waited for his shuffling item. The bananas were no use to King Boo and Petey, but they affected a few others behind.

"A Blooper?" Tom groaned, sending it up immediately. The two weren't happy to see them be overtaken by the ghost king and the plant as they glided down to the final bit, just as they reached the bottom they were struck by lightning, and the two racers behind them fell down. At the same time another blue shell sped towards just before the finish line and the Hammer Bros were affected by a Bullet Bill, speeding up the ranks. The two didn't like the look of the finish line, seeing a blue explosion blocking the view of who came first. While they were tiny, they were overtaken by two more racers. Seconds later the two humans eventually finished, unsure of what position they finished in and how many racers overtook them in that last period. They didn't like the amount of racers they saw stopping their vehicles after the finish line. As they passed the finish line Enrique slowed down the standard kart and got out, heading over to the nearest scoreboard, which updated just as the last racers crossed the line:

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: +20**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +17**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: +15**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: +13**

 **Peach and Daisy: +12**

 **King Boo and Petey: +11**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +10**

 **Tom and Enrique: +9**

 **Mario and Luigi: +8**

 **Toad and Toadette: +7**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: +6**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +5**

 **Wario and Waluigi: +4**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +3**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: +2**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: +1**

The two were glad they just scraped the top half of the board, despite having half of the race in first place. It just made them think that there are racers in this grand prix that are just simply better at karting than they are. All the racers now waited to see the update on the total scores:

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 63**

 **Peach and Daisy: 61**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 59**

 **King Boo and Petey: 52**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 43**

 **Mario and Luigi: 36**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 36**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 33**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 32**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 28**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 27**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 26**

 **Tom and Enrique: 22**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 21**

 **Toad and Toadette: 17**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 16**

To some it seemed like the top three were already created with a creeping fourth and fifth place. When they saw the scores the two both turned their heads towards Bowser, who was laughing and rolling around on the floor. Next to Bowser was the disappointed Daisy, who turned her head towards Tom.

"Bit of an unexpected ending if you ask me." Tom looked at Daisy anxiously. He couldn't see Peach nearby. He then assumed she probably disappeared and left the track already.

"You two were doing so well." Daisy replied, giving Tom the impression that she was letting them stay ahead, since she was the one driving. He tried to say something back but couldn't stop overhearing the laughter and gloating of Bowser by the finish line. That's where he eventually spotted Peach; she was just behind Bowser's body after he rolled along the floor.

"Peach needs to ignore it; we're still ahead of him. Besides, there're plenty more to go." Daisy said, looking back at the Queen's disappointed look. A few seconds later, Toad managers arrived at the track, ready to escort everyone off the circuit and back to the participants' tent for the draw for the next four races. Everybody gathered round and started making their way back up the leafy path uphill to the tent well away from the stands. As everybody entered, the managers stood outside and closed the tent ravels. The room lit up again just as the last participant entered. The cheery Lakitu stretched his arms with joy as he walked over to Shy Guy, both excited for their third place achievement, recovering from an awful last place back on Mushroom Bridge.

Peach made everybody gather around to witness the draw, they all watched in a circle as she got the ballot box with all the remaining folded papers.

"As how it was before, I will read out the order number, the writer and the chosen race. We all know those who are already exempt from the draw." Peach addressed to everybody in the tent.

"Hold on a minute. Who chose this race?" Kamek asked, interrupting Peach.

"That'll be me you're looking for." Toadsworth opened out, sighing and looking down upset. "Mistakes were made."

"You came last in your own race?" Enrique stated.

"Boys please attention here." Peach quietened Enrique.

"That's some next level disappointment there." He kept talking but was shushed by a few participants near him. Peach stretched out her right and delved it into the ballot box, selecting a random folded scrap of paper. She opened it up and read out the writing.

"9, Waluigi, 'my stadium loserz' with a z." She looked up and stared at Waluigi. He was laughing in his position with Wario giggling next to him. But everybody else nearby was just staring at them, making them both look awkward.

"Waluigi Stadium." Waluigi finalised.

"I thought so." Peach put the paper aside and put her arm in to the ballot box and drew out the next one.

"10, Cranky Kong, DK Mountain." The circle created a pleasant tone of cheer in response to the choice. Some were pretty pleased with the race idea.

"Finally, an interesting track." Bowser grinned, thanking Cranky.

"That'll be ours for the taking." Funky Kong showed off.

"Guys please, wait till I'm done with the others." Peach asked sincerely. She placed the second bit of paper aside next to the first one and drew out the third.

"11, Petey, Piranha Plant Pipeway." A rather typical track chosen by him, but nonetheless she did the normal thing and place it aside and drew out the last bit of paper for the time being.

"12, Toadbert, Mushroom Gorge." She finished.

"Can we leave now?" Paratroopa asked. Not the nicest thing to say to Peach. She nodded back, and in a few seconds many departed. Peach went over to press a button emitting a sound issued to the managers. A large group of them entered the tent from a side entrance and started to pack up and disassemble the tent down, getting prepared for Koopa Cape and its ceremony in two days time. Peach took the ballot box and placed the lid back on top, taking the four drawn bits of paper and placing them in one of her biker outfit pockets.

She looked around to see a few others still inside the tent, waiting for her to go over to them for she had not yet spoken to them about her disappearance.

"Hey Peach, don't think about Paratroopa, just ignore him. You're beating him anyway." Pauline cheered her up as she walked over.

"You've got some things to discuss about as well." Daisy pointed out.

"She isn't the only one." Tom added. "We got an idiot over here that has just put two boys in danger north of the mountains." He nudged Enrique who was standing next to him. The six formed a circle just next to the tent's entrance as it was being disassembled. It was only them and another pair still inside. Peach tried to avoid making eye contact with those two on the other side. She looked at Daisy, Rosalina and the others still not wanting to talk about what happened.

"So, are you going to say anything?" Daisy asked annoyingly. "You have to tell us everything."

"What did my brother say?" Rosalina asked.

"H... he isn't evil... anymore." Peach began, startling a few. "There's a thing that affects both of us and he tried to get rid of it for the better of both of us. It's in our heads if that helps, Daisy knows about it too and thankfully she doesn't suffer." She looked at her best friend. "Toby mentioned that name. We need to remember that for later."

"Tell us all what happened." Enrique went straight for the point and asked for everything.

Peach waited a few seconds to try and compile a story to say to the others. "There's a lot I can't remember for given reasons, but after he took me from Mushroom Bridge, I fell asleep. But I was asleep for ages, and I mean like 24 hours. The very end of it was filled with another nightmare, but I don't know if it was natural or not. It's like the shadows in my mind made me appear in it like it was real life. And at the end of that Zane appeared in it. He tried to stop the shadows but I don't know if it did anything. We both woke up in this weird cave deep underground and I saw Zane with these pieces of paper, they were like old magical tomes which I couldn't read." Everybody around her took in the information, Rosalina more than the rest. "I talked with him for a few minutes, King Boo was there too, Petey also. It was Zane who put me to sleep as he put me to sleep again. That time I had great sleep, but I woke up here. That's about it I guess."

"We need to talk about this back at the Castle, our transport awaits us." Daisy demanded. The bright sun shone in their faces as the tent fully came down. Peach looked to her left to see the other pair in the area. It was Mario and Luigi.

"Are you two boys done here?" Peach couldn't help but ask, making Mario very angry. He stormed over, giving Peach the impression that he hasn't recovered at all.

"Are we done here, are we done here? Yes! Yes we are. I know when I'm not welcome!" He growled and walked away from the group.

"Mario, come back and be reasonable." Luigi begged, sighing as he looked back at the group. "I can't deal with him like this anymore." He looked at Peach directly.

"Mario has no business with me anymore. He can't handle things seriously. Is there a reason he acts this way? I've never seen this side of him before. I thought he would be rather upset than angry." Peach replied, still not giving any sense of pity for Mario.

"Aside what you did to him, he blames it on you two." Luigi pointed to Tom and Enrique. "You boys have taken our place!" Enrique widened his eyes, willing to respond back to the shorter man, but Pauline pushed him back, calming him.

"Luigi you're always welcome to help us with the efforts, but I can't have somebody who only thinks of love when he's around me, especially in this time of course."

"You need to give him another chance." Luigi begged.

"See! This is exactly the reason why I can't toil with him. It's all petty problems like neglect and trying to get back with someone who isn't interested." Peach made Pauline and Tom laugh awkwardly in front of Luigi. Daisy attempted to close their mouths but Luigi already noticed. He looked at Mario in the distance. The red-clothed plumber had his hat off, sitting down along the path looking at the great lake of the course in sadness. "Do you honestly think I can have him with me as I deal with the problems concerning Bowser and the north? Times have changed, and he has not." Luigi looked upset, still with his eyes towards Mario. "Let's go back; I have no time for this." Peach ordered, gathering up the others who followed on behind her. Daisy trailed back to talk to Luigi in private just before they were all going to depart from the circuit area. She went up to him and kissed him before she started talking.

"Listen here Luigi, Mario hasn't adapted to the new world. For our sake I don't want you to stay behind with him. If you want to be part of a new changing world you need to be like us now. We need that inner Mr L in you; we need the bravery of him and the mindset too." She said, giving another kiss on his cheek.

"The only quarrel Mario has is with Bowser. Now he's lost. I don't know if Mario did all those rescues either to try and win Peach or to keep the government stable. He was really good at it, but what he was really bad at was keeping things the same. I can't put up with the man he is now. I'm sick of being in his shadows." Luigi's upset look was removed as he turned his head towards Daisy. "So, where's the transport to the castle. I'm in." He nodded back to Daisy and held her hand. "I've got a Queen to help." Daisy led him on towards the group of Toads that were managing transport.

"There is so much for you to learn my dear." She dragged him onward. "There'll be space for you inside Tom and Enrique's transport; I'll see you at the cas-."

"No no no no." Luigi begged. "Let me stay in your taxi, I need to speak with you and Peach without those other two around. There'll be enough-a space for me anyway."

"Our one is full; we have Rosalina and Pauline in it as well." Luigi pulled a heavily-negative expression to her just before noticing Enrique's head turn around to see him whilst inside one of the transport vehicles.

"Rosalina?" Luigi called out, just before she got inside the same transport as Peach. "Can you come here for a second?" Rosalina stood back from the vehicle and headed over to Luigi and Daisy, she could already notice that something didn't seem right between the two. The uneasy look from Luigi made her think he wanted to come along, but wouldn't want to sit with Tom and Enrique either.

"What seems to be the problem?" She asked. "We're supposed to be going back now." Luigi stared and pointed towards the other transport vehicle, where Tom and Enrique were inside talking to eachother. As he was staring he also caught sight of a phone in Tom's right hand at the same time. He was on the call to someone.

"Could you or Pauline go inside the other vehicle on the way back?" Luigi begged Rosalina as well.

"Oh so you're coming back with us – what about Mario?" She replied, giving him another question.

"Luigi is going to leave Mario on his own for a bit, he needs some space I think." Daisy answered for Luigi, who nodded with her in agreement. "Also I'd prefer to speak to Luigi about some errands only between ourselves and Peach." She further helped him. Luigi looked back at her and smiled, surprised.

"I guess I could babysit the boys for the journey back, since I know you don't like them." Rosalina said back to Luigi. "But you will have to put up with them when we get back." He nodded.

"Whatever is best for everybody." Luigi confirmed.

The three made their way into the transport vehicles and split up from there. Rosalina took Pauline into the back vehicle with Tom and Enrique, and Luigi followed Daisy into the front transport. Peach spent the past few minutes with her thoughts inside the vehicle, since Pauline decided to let her be and wait outside the vehicles for Rosalina to return.

"I hope you two stay safe." Tom finished his call as Rosalina and Pauline entered the back of the vehicle, sitting down opposite Tom and Enrique.

"What are you two doing in here, Peach kicked you out?" Enrique asked, having nothing better to do at the time.

"Luigi is coming back with us and he needs to speak with Peach and Daisy, Daisy wants to brief him on everything since he's given up on Mario." Rosalina stated.

"I see." Enrique frowned, crossing his arms and making himself comfortable as they vehicles drove off out of the woodlands.

"Who were you on the phone to?" Rosalina turned her attention to Tom, who was putting his phone back in his pocket.

"Nobody."

"You know what that means." Enrique joked.

"What does it mean?" Pauline asked, sitting next to Rosalina.

"He's talking to the twins." Rosalina stated. "He also won't reveal their location to us which is deeply important for Princess Peach."

"Oh right." Pauline grinned partially ignorant about the two teenagers. "They those two kids right?"

"Yes." Rosalina and Enrique replied. The two looked at Tom who was staring out of the vehicle window to his left, expecting him to provide some information about them.

"Well?" Rosalina provoked Tom.

"Well what? You think they'd tell me where they are?"

"I was hoping for something interesting." There was a short period of awkward silence.

"They are only here for a short while. Apparently they don't have their portal devices, and they blame you for it." Rosalina ignored Tom's mention of her. "They also said they're going to come back properly well after all these races are over."

"So they know what the trial is?" She assumed.

"Yes, it's what Tom's been talking to them about this whole call. The two had a day off at their school so they paid a visit here to see what was going on, asking for what the trial was etcetera." Enrique stated.

"They also said that you two are going to win it." Tom finished, looking back at the girls in the taxi. Rosalina sighed, wishing for a day where she could meet the two kids again. The silence continued inside the vehicle as it drove along the motorways heading eastwards to Mushroom City, first passing Sarasaland and Medulis Dacarron on the way. For most of the journey she rested her head against the side of the vehicle and stared out and looked at the hills, the trees and the sky. The days of races brought boredom to her head despite currently being first on the positioning. Bowser still has a chance in the races she thought, and maybe it would turn out to be beneficial to her in the end if he did win, but she still aimed to try her best. Rosalina didn't want to be caught trailing behind deliberately so that Bowser would win, that would be immoral of her and she well knew Pauline wouldn't like it either, as she would probably want Bowser defeated finally.

She was kind of looking forward to seeing the outcome of this trial and how it would reform the lands. However from what she has gathered the view up north doesn't seem nice either. With the ever-growing threat of the Hostiles and Peach's problems supposedly cured, she still fears for the Queen and her safety for the people. Rosalina never felt this selfless before, seeing everybody come together on neutral terms for one last prix. Unfortunately for her lack of amusement towards it, it felt like it was lasting forever, with only four of thirty-two races completed so far. All these thoughts made her desperately want to see her brother, but she still has no idea where he is.

 _IN THE OTHER TAXI..._

Unfortunately for Luigi, there was awkward silence inside the back of this vehicle as well. Luigi sat next to Daisy, who was opposite Peach, sitting on her own on the way back to the castle. He wanted to talk about what was happening but Peach didn't seem responsive at all. She was pensive about the future, as always, but Luigi didn't really see the thought of that in her. Daisy tried talking to Luigi about the past memories they shared together to comfort him from worrying about Peach. Both she and Daisy knew Luigi wasn't used to seeing Peach in this way, but her mindset and her perilous thoughts made her unable to change the way she was for the time being. Like Rosalina, Peach too was just staring out the window trapped in her thoughts, missing old times or wishing the presence of people she used to know. It was at this time Peach began to worry more about her main objectives such as seizing Koopak Asquia, maintaining the citizens, preventing the Hostiles from trespassing south or capturing the twins. As the vehicle hit the motorway, giving her a view of the smooth East Delfino hills, she recalled the events of the first event and the opening ceremony of the grand prix, specifically the time she and Tom noticed the twins in the furthest stand from the start line. She had no idea where the two could be at the moment. If only she knew the codes to the power plugs, then maintaining the power supply of the south would be a whole lot easier. Another horrific memory she recalled was the time she went far north with Zane to one of the Hostile towns. At the time she thought she was on the northern coast – what is said to be the peak of Muhu Delfethal. However, the maps drawn out by the Toads differed slightly from what she saw there. The Toads of Muhu Delfethal thought the peak of the north was the Résethal district, with towns such as Tigell and Anamar lying on the northern coast, and that the northern sea was as large as the southern sea, spanning into the horizon. However, when she was there, she remembered looking around and not seeing only sea in the horizon. The view northward was the deep blue sea, getting darker toward the horizon, eventually leading to a black silhouette of a very distant landscape just below the skyline. This she was sure of being real and not in a dream, as she traced the view of the landscape left of her vision, going westward. The Toad cartographers always had different interpretations of the north-western corner of Résethal. Some thought it spanned forever into a cold icy wilderness, some thought it followed a normal coastline pattern, but most (and then agreed to be the truth [which it now wasn't]) thought that the land's northernmost point was a settlement called Northgate: an area with a stone statue in the middle marking the point. However Peach recalled seeing the view of the horizon span way past that point from where she was. To find out more on the truth, her next desire was to seek evidence from those living up north on how the land is shaped. She thought perhaps she could use this to her advantage by seeking out an alliance with anybody who could be further north than the Hostiles, surrounding them in place. With the Mushroom Kingdom to the south and the unknown future allies in the north, there would be no hope for the hostiles to ever set foot in her lands again.

"Peach, are you alright? I've said your name three times already." Daisy snapped Peach out of her thoughts and made her look away from the window.

"Yes, sorry, I was just thinking ahead." She slouched back in position after Daisy and Luigi got her attention. She already knew Luigi began to worry for her by judging her change in personality, but Daisy still told him not to and to be calm about it. She half-listened in to the lecture Daisy was giving Luigi about the Hostiles, the Mushroom Accords and the new plans her rule has put her through. An hour later the crew eventually arrived at the city. The Toad managers escorted them all out of the vehicles and were soon dismissed and sent back to work by Peach. Still being quiet and mostly silent from the journey, she turned around outside the castle and saw a smiling Daisy take her slowly into the castle. Peach's mind was still aloft and she appeared to be in her own world, but Daisy only dragged her forth through the castle doors. Luigi helped Peach in bringing her back to the castle as well, and the three slowly distanced themselves from the other four, who arrived back slightly later.

"Peach, what's the matter?" Daisy tried to get her attention. Luigi looked at her as well, showing a worried expression once again.

She found it difficult to regain her focus and reply to Daisy. Her vision was a blur, and she started to feel dizzy on the walk into the castle. She caught sight of Tom and the others rushing forward to come to her aid.

"Something doesn't seem right." Luigi pointed out.

"She's been through a lot, I know." Daisy said back, feeling confident that Peach will feel better once she goes back to her bedroom. Rosalina and Enrique inspected the pale face that was Peach's as she walked with Daisy up the first flight of stairs. As they were travelling up, Toadsworth and two other Toad workers were walking down. He spotted Peach and the other two Toads saluted her.

"The Queen needs aid!" Toadsworth called out immediately after examining Peach's lack of attention. The two Toads he was walking with rushed out of the great hall and sought aid.

"Daisy, stop rushing her." Tom said from the bottom of the stairs. The Queen's friend turned around, listening to Tom and stopping halfway up the flight of stairs.

"Please, stop me." Peach ordered Daisy. She rested her back against the castle walls and sat down comfortably on the step. The others gathered around to watch Peach and check on her immobility.

"Somebody get her water, maybe the heat is contributing to this." Tom asked anyone else who was watching her. Rosalina rushed up the stairs and headed through a corridor leading to what some thought would be the kitchens. Peach began to pant on the stairs; everybody gathered that she was terribly unwell after the journey back. She quickly came back with a filled glass of water and a small bucket in case Peach was to vomit unexpectedly.

"Peach needs to rest; she's spent the past weeks worrying so much and needs to recover." Enrique suggested.

"No." Peach replied softly. "I've had rest, it will not help." Rosalina went on her knees and handed Peach over the glass of water. Her arm movement was too weak to hold the glass firmly so Enrique took it and moved closer to Peach.

"Open wide, you need this." He slowly poured some water through Peach's mouth, but seconds later Peach closed her eyes and her head slowly turned to the right. Her body slowly pivoted down the stairs but was stopped by Enrique's grip on her body.

"Peach, Peach!" Daisy panicked.

"I can't bear to watch." Pauline backed up from the scene. More Toads arrived to the stairs where Peach became unconscious, all rushing forward to try and help her.

"Send her to the doctor." Tom ordered, getting the Toads to carry her up and out of the area on a medical body carrier. "Daisy, Luigi, go with her." The two others followed the Toads out of the hall and towards the infirmary of the castle, separating themselves from the other four who stayed by the stairs in the great hall.

"I have a feeling this is severe. Peach can't cope with being ill all the time." Rosalina was concerned, thinking about how the tournament will still be managed having Peach becoming unresponsive.

"Should have asked how she felt in the car on the way back." Pauline stated.

"And where're the twins when you need them – their serum would have solved this." Rosalina whined again. The four sat themselves down on the top step of the staircase next to each other.

"Hopefully it's just some side effect of magic." Tom thought. "Maybe Zane forgot to tell her that when he was with her... that is if what Peach said was true."

"These races are driving me crazy." Rosalina complained. "They're just in the way unnecessarily, and they've made everyone change. Even the people who aren't in races have changed." They all contemplated the moment, leading to a brief period of silence.

"...Do any of you know where Koopak Asquia might be? Apparently he was in Mushroom City on the day of the first race but he must have left since then." Pauline asked, creating a new topic.

"Will saw him apparently, in Castelia." Enrique replied. "That night we were out, he said he found him trying to go north. He didn't engage on him because Koopak was armed. I was on a phone call to him when I was making my way back here this morning."

"He's in Hostile land now." Rosalina pointed out.

"Where else will he have to go?" Pauline asked. "He'll probably get killed up there." Rosalina looked at Pauline rather doubtfully.

"He might hide in Northgate." Enrique suggested. "I've never been there and don't know what it's like, but apparently it's where you go if you're trying to get away from people."

"So it's like Switzerland?" Rosalina asked.

"What? Uhh, yeah... sure." Enrique looked confused, despite accounting for Rosalina's lack of Earth knowledge.

"Where's Switzerland, is it near Brooklyn?" Pauline asked.

"Don't worry." Tom said back.

Tom and Enrique had barely spoken to Pauline during their time here. Neither of them thought she was of any importance until these events. Her presence deterred both of them from being themselves and talking much around Rosalina. After a few minutes Pauline got up and said her goodbyes to the others, leaving the castle and heading back to her home in Donk City. Tom got up next, but instead of leaving the castle he told the others that he was going to make his way to the infirmary to check up on Peach and the others. Enrique and Rosalina got up as well and followed him through the halls of the castle on an indirect route to the infirmary.

As they arrived they spotted Peach resting on a bed with her eyes closed. Her biker outfit was folded up aside, looking recently cleaned. The others assumed that she was changed whilst unconscious, and is probably wearing clean rags that the Toads use for their high-class patients, for only the wealthy go to this infirmary. All the regular citizens would use one of the few hospitals in the Kingdom. As Toads were not advanced medically, curatives were very scarce and difficult to come by in these lands. Most curatives in the land were both a mixture of herbs and random animal assortments, or early forms of penicillin and other antibiotics brought over by early Earth-settlers or Muji and the twins. Both Muji and the twins worked against eachother, competing for the invention of a universal curative for all types of illnesses using resources across both worlds.

"How is she?" Tom asked the doctors, working alongside the waiting Luigi and Daisy.

"We're not sure, but her heart is beating normally." The head Toad doctor replied back to Tom, giving him almost no help whatsoever. Enrique went up to Peach and leaned his head down to her chest to check if her heart was beating; it was fine.

"Anyone could've said that." He said to the Toads.

"We're going to run a scan on her and find diagnostics." The Toads said back. "You need to be patient with circumstances like this, since for us they are rare, and operating on a human is very difficult. This is the first time we have operated the Queen." Enrique accounted the information and had a thought about the case.

"How long do you think it will take for her to be better?" He asked the doctors.

"We can't give an accurate answer, but from what the experts have examined so far, it will be at least a day. We will do our best not to let the people know about this, we can't handle more disasters. Hopefully the trial will not be altered." Daisy cried, sitting on a chair next to Peach's bed. Enrique stared down at Peach and looked around her body.

"Tom, can I speak to you outside?" He asked Tom quietly, nudging him at the same time. The two followed out of the room, with Daisy attempting to follow. She was quickly interrupted by Rosalina, insisting her on staying back in her seat and being by Peach's side.

Enrique walked outside the room, distant from the others who were watching how Peach was and listening to the Toad doctors at work. Tom stood against the walls outside the infirmary and looked at Enrique, watching him staring into the room.

"What are you thinking?" He asked Enrique. He was silent for a few seconds.

"...what if we took her to a hospital on Earth?"

"..." Tom gave the suggestion a thought. He leaned over to his left and turned his head to peek into the room. He saw everyone except Rosalina looking at Peach and watching the Toads ready up a scan. As for Rosalina she was just looking back at the two. Tom beckoned Rosalina, making her leave the room.

"Enrique thinks we should take her to Earth, specifically a proper hospital where she could get cured in less than a day." Tom carried the idea forward to Rosalina.

"So I take it you two know about the time myth then?" Rosalina considered.

"Yes, we've done it, we've tried, we found out ages ago." Tom confirmed. "It won't take us months it will only take us the overnight period hopefully."

"The only problem is them in there still believe the old. Everyone in this land still does. As far as I know the only people who know about the truth are you, I, my brother, Marrec, and the twins..." The three stared into the room discretely. They all noticed Luigi sometimes turn his head towards them to see if they were spying on him inconspicuously. "And how are you two supposed to get her off them anyway?"

"Simple." Tom replied. "We just take her. Luigi aint got shit on us two." Rosalina still disagreed with the idea.

"It won't happen; Daisy will go mad and expose it to everyone out there." The three spotted Luigi's head slowly turn towards the doorway, making them hide from his sight. Tom raised his head over the department window to see what was happening. He spotted Luigi out from his seat and walking towards the doorway. Tom lowered his head and mouthed 'he's coming' to Enrique and Rosalina who were on the right side of the doorway. As soon as Luigi walked out of the doorway Tom made an attempt to grab him, but Enrique got him first. He restrained Luigi, wrapping his arm around his neck in a lock.

"I'm sorry, but for the benefit of Peach, we're going to need her." Enrique whispered in Luigi's ear, sealing his mouth with his other arm. "You have to trust us here." Luigi wailed quietly, trying to break out of Enrique's arms.

"Luigi? Are you ok?" Daisy got out from her seat and started walking towards the doorway. Tom peeked and saw her coming, mouthing 'I've got this one' to the other two. As she walked out she turned her head to see Enrique and was immediately pulled back by Tom, being restrained in exactly the same way. Pauline looked at the doorway after hearing a short scream let out by Daisy. Rosalina looked through the stained window on her side and saw Pauline taking a slower approach to the entrance. The Toads were still working on Peach, but some looked wary about what was going on outside. Rosalina thought it would be a struggle for her to replicate what Tom and Enrique did to Luigi and Daisy to Pauline. Daisy still kept banging the wall and wailing her arms around.

"Daisy calm down, you can't escape this. This is for Peach's safety." Tom tried to calm her down but nothing seemed to work out for him. Rosalina spotted Pauline's shadow approach close enough for her to encounter the others. She rushed around Enrique and stood in front of Pauline and pointed her wand at her.

"I'm sorry." She said and she casted a beam into Pauline, making her collapse to the ground. The other four looked at Pauline lie on the ground asleep. Rosalina looked up and saw some of the Toads looking back at her.

"What were you thinking?" Enrique yelled. The Toads panicked and stopped operating the scan on Peach. Rosalina rushed into the room and put all of the Toads to sleep in the room. One of them attempted to dial up the Toad operators in the castle, but thankfully the Toad on the phone collapsed before he could forward a call. The infirmary department floor was filled with unconscious doctors scattered around. Tom and Enrique one after the other brought Daisy and Luigi back into the room. They both nodded and made Rosalina cast her wand at them, sending a beam to their heads and putting them both to sleep as well.

"This was not what I had in mind." Enrique said again, dropping Luigi to the floor.

"Pile the bodies up in the corner over there, that way nobody can see them walking past." Rosalina ordered. "I'm sorry, but the only way we can get Peach without them intervening would be for none of them to witness it and be able to spread the word to anybody else." She apologised, going over to close the door to the department, locking it as well.

"How are we gonna get to Earth?" Enrique asked.

"Use your devices." Rosalina replied.

"We can't." He said back to her. "Tom's in..."

"I'm in Bexley."

"...and I am in Pristina. We're thousands of miles away from eachother." Enrique then looked back at Tom. "Nëna ime e di se unë kam shkuar."

"...we use the second portal." Tom decided. "There's another cave near the first one. It leads to my old office in the school I used to work in."

"Is it near Brooklyn?" Rosalina asked.

"It's nowhere near Brooklyn." Enrique replied. "What is it with you and Brooklyn?" He ranted at her. "...but why don't we just go to Brooklyn?"

"It's still peak hours in Brooklyn, plus if we get spotted by humans then we'll be over the news. We aren't known to be missing and aren't really known by anybody in Bexley." Tom confirmed.

"I suggest we make a move now." Rosalina thought. "And try not to be seen by any Toad either." The three slowly began to make their way out of the castle, slowly taking Peach wrapped up in a thin duvet with them...

 **EOC: The end of this chapter marks the end of the first quarter of the story. As a result, the next chapter released will be one of few Prologue extracts. That chapter is already written (it was finished before Chapter 16 was uploaded in November 2018) and is significantly longer than any regular chapter. After that, chapter 20 will be released.**

 **If you haven't already, please vote on the poll in my profile.**

 **See you soon.**


	20. Interlude: The Terrible Truth about Time

Fighting in the Streets

Prologue Extract 1: The Terrible Truth about Time

 **A/N: Please note that this chapter is** _ **very**_ **lengthy and at the same time optional; if you're not interested in heavy OC parts then skip ahead if there's another chapter. It's like I'm going back to some non-linear format I had going for the first five chapters or so. There are many time periods involved in these chapters as well, mainly focusing on the short few-day period between the events of Speed Dials and the first Chapter of this. If you are interested in this little period or wanting to know how it all started then this is the place for you.**

 **Also note that this is titled 'Prologue Extract 1' indicating there are probably more of these to come. Think of it as a sort of side story, but with unknown updates independent to the main storyline. I did consider uploading these as a separate story but it doesn't seem worth it due to it being literally part of the same 'story' and that uploads would be super rare yet full of content. It also requires a subsequent degree of knowledge on the main story and also more importantly, the prequels. Having a new story wouldn't help with that.**

 **January 2, 2015 (1) – Early Morning**

On a small cliff-surrounded island just several metres off the southern coast of the Mushroom Kingdom, two teenage boys waited just outside their house. The day was bright with a nice coastal breeze and humidity was no issue. They both waited for the arrival of one of their good friends who also met them in their times back on Earth. The contact between these two and their friend in both lands made it very easy for them to meet up in either land. The two watched their taller and older friend walk across the one road bridge which led to the small town island and then walk a paved dirt path leading to the teenagers' house on the centre of the island.

Tom Tûnis was the man walking from the mainland to the house in the centre. He had arrived bearing interesting news regarding a swarm of perilous events that occurred far to the west in the past 48 hours, including the biggest turnover in history: Bowser's surrender to the crown. As it had only been since last night the official surrender was declared, the two teenagers had no idea what else had happened. All they knew about were two attacks; one on Wuhu Island and the other at the Electrodrome, both causing many casualties.

In advance, Tom already told the two that he spent the past two nights there, and said he would finally return back to Isle Port (the island) to let the two teenagers know about what will be happening in case the two need to act upon it. Tom had now reached the front yard of the house and was in speaking distance.

"You look a mess, was it really bad out there dealing with surrender?" The taller and older teenager, Tobias, questioned, looking at the state of Tom's clothes. His clothes were dirty and tacky; it looked like Tom may have to use their shower shortly.

"A lot happened there, it makes the story all the more interesting to tell." Tom replied to the two teenagers, who were still relaxing, wearing short clothing and enduring the beautiful sun's heat.

"A story? This is going to be fun." Duncan, the shorter teenager wondered with a bright mood.

The two teenagers, publicly known as the twins have been rarely seen by the crown in the past five Earth years, which is an extremely long time in Muhu Delfethal, but for Tom who saw them often, he didn't significantly notice the changes in the teenagers' appearance, personality and age. Now, Tobias was fifteen years old and Duncan was fourteen. When Tom first came to this land Tobias was ten and Duncan was nine. Tom also knew that the teenagers spent a lot of the past five years on Earth, either to speed up the agenda in Muhu Delfethal or dealing with Earth matters like their families. Maybe one day either of the two would give up with those matters and end up living the rest of their lives here.

"Let's go inside. Somebody needs to clean their clothes." Tobias suggested, shortly sniffing after speaking. "And have a shower too." He smelt the clothes, disgusted at what Tom could possibly have been up to.

"We need snacks and drinks." Tom asked. "This story is going to turn into a super long conversation that could possibly last hours." The two teenagers looked at each other.

"Even better!" The two said to each other. "Tobias, help run this man a shower. I'm gonna hop on over to the store on the street and get us some extra crisps and snacks. I think we're running low." Duncan turned back and started heading down the paved dirt path heading straight back to the town.

Isle Port was the name of both the small town and the island; it has kept its name for a few generations despite not looking like a port in the modern day. Years ago it did once serve as a small port but was abandoned for many years until recently it became renovated into a small seaside town. The place is one of few to go by different names over the generations. The place was named 'Ēogras' in the Ancient tongue, Ishullipo in the old Koopish dialect which led to the modernised name 'Isle Port' used today. Furthermore the 'street' in Isle Port refers to the only street in the town, the only one that is not connected by the bridge to the mainland. The format of the Isle Port town consists of the one street perpendicular to the bridge and then the other road connecting the centre of the 'street' all the way across the bridge and to the countryside roads of the southern Mushroom Kingdom.

Duncan headed into the corner building on the street, the grocery store for the few citizens that lived on the island as well. The road that led to the bridge had all the citizens' houses on each side, whereas the main street contained all other buildings: the grocery store, public house, a bank branch and even a small bus garage as Isle Port was a termination stop for a particular Mushroom City bus route. Right next to there was also a multi-staircase entrance leading to the underground. Isle Port was one of a very few stations to be based underground. For railing simplicities and a lack of nearby towns, Isle Port station was only connected by the town of Elhelm to the west (a medium-sized city containing the well-known Peach Beach) via rail and only had two operating trains every day. One outbound in the early morning and one inbound in the evening. When Duncan arrived into the grocery store he went to pick his favourite treats with the usable shopping trolley, stock up on fresh healthy drinks, and get a couple more meals for the evenings. After having done that he went straight to the till to meet his amicable Koopa vendor friend Wynonna.

"How's my one of two friendly neighbourhood human boys doing on this fine summer morning?" Wynonna greeted Duncan, giving him her usual morning smile.

"Great as always, heard anything suspicious yet? Hope nobody's gone and exposed my or Tobias' profile." The teen replied, putting the snacks on the till.

"Not that I know of at the moment, what's this occasion though?" She asked whilst weighing up the snacks. "I've never seen you buy this much in a shopping round ever."

"Tom's come down for the day." Duncan replied, excited. "He's heard a lot of news with the crown and Bowser over the past two days so we're gonna be eating quite a lot." The two giggled amongst themselves shortly before both noticing something strange outside the store. They spotted a group of Toad Brigade soldiers and workers, surveying the town from the streets. The workers even looked ahead at the house in the centre of Isle Port: The Sanctuary as the two teenagers called it.

"Things are about to get a whole lot different around here. I'm not a fan of it myself. I heard some things on the news this morning and it doesn't sound good for people like us." Wynonna concluded. "Your shopping items round up to six coins." Duncan handed over the coins from his pockets and started to put the items back on the shopping trolley. Wynonna leaned over to whisper something to Duncan from the counter. "It's actually twelve coins, but we'll keep this between us. Prices have already skyrocketed ever since last night as well." She halved the final value as she printed out the receipt, adding a fake coupon for 50% discount. Duncan loaded all of the items on the trolley and began facing towards the exit of the grocery store.

"I hope you don't get affected as much. I'm probably worse off since I'm human." He said before getting ready to leave.

"Have a good day, and enjoy your feast!" Wynonna cheered, waving him off.

Duncan went outside to see the surveyors holding lots of sheets of paper with notes filled on them. Brigade soldiers were taking pictures of the buildings as Duncan headed back to the dirt path to the Sanctuary. He presumed one of the Brigade soldiers had caught him in a photo, but interacting with them would only make it more suspicious... related to whatever reason for the things the Brigade were doing. As he distanced himself from the centre of town Duncan turned his head back every so often to see if they would move. Unfortunately, one time he turned his head was the same time a Brigade soldier took a direct snapshot of him looking straight into the camera. When he finally arrived he started to unload all of the shopping from the trolley, which he took in all the way to the kitchen of the house. He was hearing the sound of a shower and the footsteps of Tobias come downstairs after aiding Tom with his dirty clothes, which he was carrying and taking to the washing machine.

"You've gotten loads, my friend. I doubt we'll get through it all." Tobias pointed out as Duncan was unloading the shopping into the drawers, cupboards and the fridge.

"Doesn't have to be finished today; besides, apparently prices went up extremely yet Wynonna still gave me half price." Duncan replied, showing Tobias the receipt.

"12 coins? We barely even pay half that on regular shops, since when were prices so high?" Tobias complained.

"Since yesterday." Tom shouted from the shower. Seconds later Tom was finished with the shower so he turned it off. Duncan and Tobias kept putting things away and left some snacks from the shopping trolley to be put on the dining table. Everything was almost fully prepared by the time Tom had got changed, but what they thought was getting changed was actually putting on some trousers whilst having a towel still worn on his shoulders. But he had known these two for so long that they didn't get uncomfortable around it, instead they just sighed and jokingly put a disgusted look on their faces.

"Go and put some clothes on." Tobias asked. "You are going to be talking for a while."

"Yeah I know." Tom said back, grinning. "Just having a look at all the food as all. Get me some water please though, I'm thirsty." Duncan went over to the tap and filled the nearest clean glass with water, sliding it back along the worktop for Tom to reach. He guzzled it down in seconds, said thanks and then rushed back up the stairs again. "Wait." He said halfway up the stairs. "None of my clothes are here right?"

"Check the chests, there's bound to be an old tee-shirt of yours still laying around up there." Duncan suggested after finishing up laying the snacks on the table. The two waited at the table until Tom came down, talking amongst themselves until he arrived back with a white tee-shirt on. Tom grabbed himself another drink and sat at the table opposite the twins.

"You know, Wynonna the Koopa girl at the grocery store told me that prices have basically doubled ever since last night... and that there are several Brigade dudes at the town taking pictures and surveying the town. Could you tell me about this all first?" Duncan asked.

Tom put his sockless feet up on the table and looked back at the teen. "I witnessed a lot of things but I never expected there to be a huge surge in inflation across the lands." He replied. "But I do know about the whole thing to do with the Toad Brigade. Ever since last night the investment into those forces increased greatly and their surveillance has improved. Peach issued out a lot of things and honestly I have to tell you it all in order."

"Well, we're listening. Go ahead." Tobias instructed, also putting his feet up on the table as he grabbed a snack. Duncan did the same shortly afterwards. Tom then began to tell his story.

"So it all started directly after the arrest of Bowser on Wuhu Island and I had gone back to Mushroom City with Princess Peach and all the other Brigades, the Mario brothers you know, all of them..."

...

 _It was after sunset on New Year's Day. Peach had just returned to the castle after meeting up with Bowser on a field not far from the city. There she then had him taken back on a separate helicopter to his castle. When she came back to her castle in Toad Town, she took me into her headquarters and began to act rather different. Inside her headquarters were loads of workers, all addressing pages and pages of I would guess laws or work at the time. When she gathered all the workers in the room to one place and told them to be silent, that was when she started to act all crazy._

" _My fellow Toads, now that Bowser has been put on his restraint and has also been put on his official trial, it is now time we enable the final copy of 'The Mushroom Accords'." She addressed to all the Toads in the room, I was only in the back corner behind her without any proper clue as to what these accords are. I learnt later that the main purpose of the accords were written down as 'full unification of the three southern kingdoms' and this surprised me as I thought the three southern kingdoms were already under the rule of the Princesses. Then I later learned that Daisy had given up her reign over the Delfino Kingdom, handing it over to Peach assuming she would keep it in better hands, with the exchange of Sarasaland being hers still. However, there was way more to it than that. When she fully announced this most of the Toads began to leave the room immediately, all taking their papers with them. Within a few more seconds it was just me and her in the room and that was when I asked her about what they were._

" _So Peach, what are these accords exactly? It says here on this sheet that the main purpose is unification but hasn't that already happened?" I said to her, she looked back at me and presented me with a full copy of the entire accords spread out along her map table._

" _That is just the start, have a look at these." She instructed me. "Now that Bowser has been successfully defeated it is now my time to claim full power over the south and have the whole lands under my protection and sovereignty." I was shocked to see this kind of Peach, I had never really seen it often under all the times I have been with her. "I know there's a lot but have a look at the titles of each article. It should be enough for you to know about." She finished. I went over to see all these new laws that were to be introduced to the lands, some good but most bad. The first important one I saw was about the surrender of Bowser's allies. This one really got me interested because Bowser had connections with a hell of a lot of people. I read on to see who was involved and oh my it was literally everybody. Wario and Waluigi were the start, she wanted them as a subcategory and what made it worse is that they even wanted people allied to them. So I'm talking Mona, I'm talking Jimmy Thang, I'm even talking about that woman 9-Volt and her kids! She wanted them all to present their surrender to her even though they lived miles away and did nothing bad. I bet they will refuse though. It further read that these people will be hunted for by the Brigade and by the Patrol. Several other allies included the Kongs, King Boo and Petey, Fawful and Cackletta, Zane and Marrec, the Hammer Bros, Koopa Troopas still loyal to Bowser, and the last bit: anybody who still opposes or does not already claim citizenship or a friendly reputation with the crown..._

"Unfortunately that includes you two guys, since you're not on good terms with the Princess." Tom pointed to the two teens.

"But we're not on bad terms either, we haven't done anything bad to her whatsoever, all our purpose is out here related to the crown is controlling the power supply for most of the lands. Good or evil, that's something we cannot stop since we're the only ones who know how to." Tobias complained.

"Not being on bad terms does not mean you're on good terms either." Tom pointed out. "As of last night when the accords were addressed, you two are wanted men."

"That's stupid." Duncan threw an empty packet of crisps behind him while he was leaning on his chair. "I'm not gonna 'submit' to somebody just because her nemesis has lost the fight. Why can't him and I just stay neutral, did you tell Peach about this?"

"I did..."

 _I spoke to Peach after I read all of the important articles of the accords. The next ones I read about were the changes in security. As of now a lot of the busy areas in towns will be monitored by Toad Brigade. There'll be more police in local areas in order to minimise all forms of crime. Koopak Asquia is also officially wanted by the crown as well despite being wanted in the past. There was an improvement into finding the whereabouts of him as well. There was another article about an inflation policy and another about improving the train transport. But the most important one was the article concerning the hunt for allies of Bowser and anyone who does not submit to the crown. They will track you down if they don't see you abide to them. Other people that fall under your category are most earth humans and some members of the Red Martyr council._

" _What do you think to them all? Pretty sweet if you ask me." Peach smiled to me as I finished reading the important parts of the accords._

" _Most of it is easy to implement, the big main problem is the one about hunting people who don't submit to the crown. What about freedom?" I asked back, trying to get a debate out of her. I hoped I could do as best I can to quickly avert this part of the accords, I didn't want my friends to be captured and hurt._

"Gay."

"Shut up let me speak."

 _I asked her about the possibility that some of these allies of Bowser not wanting to submit to the crown and just want to live ordinary lives in peace as there would be some of them who would just drop all remembrance of Bowser and just become neutral, letting her do what she wants without them._

" _There's no other way than for them to come themselves or they will face the same punishment without trial. There is this pardon for some of them however in relation to Bowser's trial. That I cannot share with you until it goes to the public however." Peach replied, not helping me at all so I just simply had to complain more._

" _Hey listen here, I can understand the direct allies of Bowser can come forth and admit their surrender, but you can't have families doing it who aren't even evil at all. Look at Wario's friends, just because Bowser and Wario are friends and Wario and Jimmy for example are friends doesn't mean Jimmy and Bowser are friends. Do you see what I mean? And besides, you can't kill a king who's dead. King Boo will definitely not come and surrender to you, he'll probably go into hiding like half of the others out there any way." I asked Peach, and quickly before she was going to reply I asked about more. "And about these neutrals, just let them stay neutral. I assure you my friends are not going to do anything bad because they already know that if they do anything bad they will either be arrested or banished back to Earth. My friends George and Toby etcetera know this and they cherish their time here because of how time works here in relation to Earth." Peach didn't look very happy when I finished my second line of complaints._

" _After the deeds you did for me nearly five full years ago I gave you the ability to live freely. And since then I've seen you conspire with the likes of Zane and Bowser in the past. I can't have people out there doing that kind of stuff behind my back. You should be lucky you're not on this list. One more complaint from you and you and Enrique are going to be added on immediately, that's how powerful these accords are, and I can do what I want with them, when I want and as I wish. That's why I am called Queen now." She seemed fearless now. It was like she could do anything she wanted, literally anything! I gave my last shot thinking she still had a generous side towards me and En._

" _Just let the twins be, they have a universal job to do and they're the only ones who can do it. If you make them forced to abide, maybe one of them would shut down your power and you won't be able to do anything about it. Now what do you call that kind of sovereignty." That was word for word what I said back to her, and something I now kind of regret._

" _So you want to act smart with me eh? I'll put extra soldiers on the look for them now that you mentioned it." This was the worst kind of Peach I had seen for a long time. "And I'm going to ask you this now. Do you stand loyal to the crown at all times?..." I went silent for a short moment afterwards. It was like I was put on against a cliff choosing whether to submit to her fully and lose my freedom, or to leave her and become another wanted man._

" _You trust me more than any other human out there; of course I am loyal to you. I'm the one who gathers you information about the enemies. It is how you know all about it in the first place." I said back to her, trying to even things out. She didn't seem moved by my words, but hopefully on the inside she saw the light of my honesty._

" _That's what I expected you to say, but what's worst about it is that you're not loyal and that you'd lie to me and say you are." She grabbed me by the chest. "I'm going to give you until sunrise to get out of this castle, once that happens. You'll be tracked by the Brigade and forced to return again and again until you truthfully submit to me. The same message will be given out to Enrique." There was only one thing I had left to say._

" _You'll never force me to do anything again. Your plan will fail."_

" _Then is it on your head, be it?"_

" _Try me." I pushed her aside and dashed out of the castle as quickly as I could, then I sought a place to stay the night in Mushroomheath, a place I thought would be close and quite safe for me._

"I hadn't seen her since. She probably called for extra security since I saw a lot of Brigade soldiers and police on the streets on my way here this morning." Tom finished his story to the twins, who had finished a lot of snacks during the duration.

"So to sum it all up, Peach has gone power hungry and is after us, because we didn't exactly get involved in anything bad recently?" Tobias questioned.

"What's happened to Bowser?" Duncan asked. "Did she tell you anything about him?"

"I think Bowser has gone back to his castle where he spends his days until the trial, whatever it will be. She didn't announce it and kept it hidden from me. I will try to find out about it." Tom replied. "Fortunately I believe Peach will still have a soft side for us, we haven't really done that bad I guess she's just jealous of how we are dealing with both sides."

"I have a feeling there'll be more sides to deal with someday. Since Bowser's pretty much out of the spotlight I believe it will bring in more of a racket up north. The people up there are gonna start becoming more and more hostile. I bet the next thing is Peach will try and conquer there too and that will be a complete failure." Duncan suggested, thinking about all the possible things Peach will do now she has her biggest enemy dealt with.

"I'm going to try and sort it out. What's more important is what everyone else is up to at the moment. All I know is Zane got arrested and the Brigade will be after all my earth friends: Jack, George, Luke, Toby and Will."

"What about Marrec, Zane's friend, any word on him?" Tobias asked, trying to recall familiar faces involved in the hunt.

"No idea, haven't seen that guy since god knows how many weeks ago." Tom thought. "He'll reappear eventually because whenever there's a new spire of events, all these guys like to get involved."

"What about Rosalina?" Duncan asked, just before beginning to stare out of the window facing north.

"She'll take an approach for this, I wonder if she would be on the hunt list. There were too many names for me to remember them all." Tom looked back to see Tobias munching on some food and Duncan staring out of the window oddly. He turned his head to see what Duncan was looking at and spotted a group of Toad police slowly walking towards the front of their house. Two of the police went over to the shopping trolley Duncan left outside after putting all the foods away, beginning to take it away from the house.

"Shoes on, Tobias, they're after us." Duncan got up from his seat and pressed a button on the wall near his seat, closing all the windows with blinds. "Looks like we have to go." The two got up and ran around the place, getting their shoes on and spying out on the police before they knocked on the door.

"Guys, what are you doing?" Tom asked whilst watching them run up the stairs.

"We have to go, nice knowing you Tom." Duncan raised his voice from upstairs so Tom could hear him.

"You guys can't just disappear now, that's not fair. I just got here." Tom moaned whilst hearing the sounds of police Toads banging on the door. He got up and headed upstairs to see the two dressed and ready, running back down the stairs past Tom.

"Then come with us, silly."

"Make sure you don't fall out." The two laughed whilst heading downstairs and rushing to the back exit of the house. They rushed down another set of stairs to their basement where they had a stolen car from Earth and a large, modified B Dasher Mark 3, the newest version.

"You guys kart?" Tom asked as he entered the garage, basking on the beauty of the exquisite design of the vehicle.

"For five earth years my friend, now watch the master drift us out of here." Duncan laughed, getting in the front seat. Tobias stood on top at the back of the kart, locking his feet in between the back boosters and grabbing onto a small metal bar attached the vehicle. For Tom it seemed like the vehicle was specifically enlarged and modified for Double Dash usage, as Tobias' position would be perfect for throwing items. The only problem for Tom is where he would sit.

"You see how I was just then?" Tobias said as he got off the kart just a second ago. "That's how you're going to be sitting." He got back into the kart and sat in a small space just behind Duncan's front seat. "Now hurry up, once you're in we're out of here." Tom had just put on both his shoes he was using last night and strapped them on to the edge of the kart. He grabbed onto the handle bar and tried to get balance on the back.

"You better be careful here Tom, this kart's been modified with thrust boosters, we're going to be going really fast!" Duncan laughed again as the garage exit lowered down. The vehicle began to move slowly and accelerate out onto the grassland. Tom already started moving his body around as a result of the speed and turning.

"Jesus Christ!" He shouted, just about regaining his balance whilst keeping his firm grip on the handle bar at the same time. The three eventually drove around the front of the house where the Toad police were. They became noticed due to the sound of the vehicle as it roared back on to the dirt path heading straight out of the island.

"You know if you ever bump into someone like the Mario brothers tell them they can spend a weekend here or something. They must be so bored now." Duncan laughed as they drove near the street and the road heading across the bridge.

"Police cars up ahead!" Tom yelled whilst being pushed back by the wind blushing on his face.

"All the more fun." Tobias joked around as they headed onto the main road. The B Dasher sped past citizens and police alike, either cheering them on or rushing after them to try and catch them, but the vehicle was just too fast. Tom and Tobias looked behind to see several Toads get into their police cars and start driving on a chase with them. The chase followed on the eastward road along the coast. The kart began reaching speeds well beyond those capped in normal kart tournaments. A few minutes later and they had an entire force of cars behind them, and even eventually, a helicopter. Tom looked completely worried at the sight behind him, but the other two couldn't stop looking ahead. As they reached a rightward bend, Duncan steered the kart off-road to the left, heading northeast. Heading off-road the three drove into the woodlands in between Toad Town and the southern coast, here the trees were very closely packed and going through them quickly would be very difficult. Tom watched the police cars slow down and eventually stop outside the forest's edge. The sirens became quieter as they distanced themselves further away. To their left they saw a bright light appear on the ground, the helicopter shone a luminous beam in search for the three driving through. Duncan tried to drift around to the right to avoid the beam from shining on them.

"We can't hide in here forever." Tom warned the other two, who became silent as they reached the forest. The B Dasher began to slow down as they all noticed a second beam on their right.

"Why are there so many out to hunt us down?" Tobias wondered. The three eventually reached a small lake in the centre of the woodlands, an area where no trees were in sight and the only thing above in the sky was several more helicopters. Something didn't seem right at all. Duncan stopped the kart and looked up, gulping at the sight of them. Down below, they all noticed Toad Police and Brigade, searching the area. They were surrounded.

"It's been nice messing around with you Tom, but times are really changing." Duncan said, getting out of the kart. Tobias hopped off of the middle as well. They each unravelled one of their sleeves and walked towards the lake.

"No guys come on. You can't run away like this again." Tom begged the two to stay.

"We'll always meet again. I promise." Tobias said back as they both stood in front of the lake.

"SEIZE THEM!" They heard the shouting of Toads from the other side of the lake. Tom turned around to see some more police heading towards him.

"Stupid portal watches. You two and your tech!" Tom eventually put his hands up and watched the two boys dive into the water. He looked around and saw Toads right behind them. "They jumped in the lake." Tom admitted, pointing to in front of him. Helicopters surrounded the sky surrounding the open area in the lake. As some of them lowered to the tree height, swarms of Toad Patrol – the more armed forces of the Mushroom Kingdom government – came down with their armed weapons, just next to Tom.

"Open fire!" One of the Toad Patrol shouted, ordering a few of them to fire their rifles into the water, hoping to get either of the twins. Seconds later, more Patrol began diving into the water as Tom was being handcuffed by the police. He started to be taken away slowly out of the forest. Tom assumed the two had gotten away yet again, and that seeing them ever again may be questionable this time. Things really have changed around here for everyone.

"We lost them." He heard the last voice of a Toad Patrol before he was put inside the back of a Toad police car. The difference between the twins' warping devices and Tom and Enrique's, is that the twins were able to warp to any area in Muhu Delfethal (or anywhere in the device's radius). Tom's and Enrique's only allowed them to warp to Earth and back, putting them in the same relative position to where they last were in said world. Tom always hated the twins' interest in developing new and improved ways of teleportation as it solved a lot of their problems. After stealing a lot of the ideas from Muji of the Red Martyrs in Aypidaw, the two developed far better and more reliable ways of switching between worlds and going to different places quickly. It was them who started making their own ways of warping back instead of having to use the fundamental portals scattered around the lands. There was a portal in Brooklyn which Tom used to use to get back from one place to another, but it was annoying as it would only be accessible from a small cave near a meadow not far from the northern province of Mushroom City called Mushroomheath.

So far there have been twelve portal devices made and only six in active use. The currently functioning mark one is still in the hands of Muji Kuti, for his personal use only. Marks three and four were given to Tom and Enrique years ago by Muji. Five was also destroyed years ago. Mark six is in the hands of Jack Akbal, one who still occasionally visits Earth. Mark two was no longer in use for being destroyed several years ago. Mark seven originally belonged to Ronald Rodriguez, but was stolen by the twins for their use and for creating newer versions. These became known as the newer portal devices, with eight and above being capable of local teleportation. The best ones (eleven and twelve) are currently in the hands of the two teenagers, yet eight nine and ten are currently kept somewhere secret between them.

Tom looked to check his device and noticed it was out of charge. The only place he could recharge the specific energy needed to create these portals was at the Powerhouse on the northeast tip of the lands, deep in Résethal. But that was hundreds of miles away, he couldn't get there easy enough at the moment being trapped inside a police car. If only he had charge that way he could disappear for a long time on Muhu Delfethal yet only be gone a few minutes on Earth. Tom looked out to see the road ahead; he was on a familiar route. Only the same one which would send him directly back to Peach's Castle. Where was Enrique when he needed him the most...

 _A FEW HOURS LATER..._

He was still cuffed and put in waiting in one of the rooms of the Castle. Eventually a group of Toads came in to the room and escorted him out again. He had spent the past half hour inside a small room on one of the middle floors of the castle, heavily guarded by Toad Brigade. The Toads escorting him out sent him up flights of stairs leading him to a familiar spot in the castle: Peach's Headquarters. He was put inside, still cuffed and the doors closed straight after he was shoved in. In front of him was only Princess Peach, not looking very happy at all.

"You want to see me again?" Tom asked rather rudely. He watched the princess turn around and look straight at him.

"Tom... Tom, you were this close... THIS CLOSE TO GETTING THOSE BOYS!" He flipped into a raging terror, relative to how she normally is. "If you had those two brought here I would give you anything you would have wanted and then some! I don't have much choice now on what to do with you." She whined on the spot. Tom noticed on the side of the map table in the centre of the room that Peach had a glass of champagne left out. This was very unusual as he thought she had stopped that for good. Perhaps since yesterday she has taken a habit into that again.

"I couldn't get them for you, but your forces should have." He reminded.

"No amount of Patrol force can match the powers of teleportation. Have you ever wondered how it was a miracle for us to capture Zane that day?" She sighed. "I know now that I can never get you to truly stay loyal on my side if you can't even listen to a simple order."

"You never told me to get the twins. Heck how would you even know I'd be with them this morning?" Peach went silent and pulled a disappointing look back at Tom.

"This attitude is exactly why I cannot trust you anymore." She said back quietly. Tom assumed something wasn't right with her and didn't bother trying to argue his side on the story. He clearly remembered being told to leave the place before he would get captured. Not to go out and help capture others and be captured too. Tom had a feeling Peach was going to change for the worse around him. Perhaps his days of frolicking around were coming to an end.

"You've got Bowser sealed up, you need to ignore him and anything related to him. I'm sure the boys and Zane will definitely become less of a threat to you. Your real threats are the ones in the north." Tom tried to calm her down.

"Perhaps I should send you there, since my distrust in you is becoming a threat. You've become an enemy." He looked straight at him and approached him quickly, making him back up against the locked door behind him whilst still cuffed.

"Banishment? Now Peach come on, we shouldn't be like that at this dear time."

"Come on? Is that what you're trying to say? Come on? I can send my guards on you right now and have you banished. Your time in this Kingdom is over." Peach went over to the left side of the room, about to send a message out to the workers and Brigade inside the castle.

"You can't do that, you simply can't." Tom halted her, just before she was about to press the audio button on the wall.

"And why can't I?"

"Because... Daisy will vouch for me. Muji will vouch for me." He tried his best to defend himself, but facing a punishment for being neutral seemed legitimate now due to these new accords.

"Attention all Brigade, please escort Tom out of the castle and have him sent to Aypyidaw. Note down that any sighting of him in the three southern kingdoms will result in him being imprisoned." Peach announced after eventually pressing the button. Tom heard the sound of the back doors opening up, with several Toad Brigade members marching through to take him out.

"Tell me, what did we learn from this?" Tom complained as he was being taken out.

"If you are not with me Tom, then you are against me." Peach said her goodbyes as Tom was dragged out of the headquarters. The doors closed behind swiftly, and she moved over to the button to announce another message.

"If you see any human who isn't a government associate, imprison them until further notice." She finished. A few seconds later she received an incoming message from the toad workers on the bottom floor.

"We've got a guest who wants to see you, princess." The message came through.

"Send whoever it is up and in." As soon as Peach addressed a message up she looked up to see the doors open slowly. She watched as a familiar tall feminine figure walked slowly into the room.

"I saw Tom get taken downstairs; he was begging me for help." The girl stated; it was Rosalina.

"I know I can trust you. If you were worrying about the message I just sent out through the halls." Peach walked away from the button and back over towards the middle table.

"What happened with Tom anyway, it looks like he can't be allowed here anymore. If it's anything to do with Bowser I would say you're making a big mistake. There's nobody evil enough to create a distraction for people like him to mess around with. What are you going to do with Bowser anyway?" Peach waited a few seconds to think before replying.

"Bowser is under surveillance at all times. His trial commences in just less than two weeks. I have it all written down and kept in secrecy, so don't you worry about that until it gets announced." Rosalina didn't seem moved about what Peach said. She had a slight feeling she was going to execute him, but with the likes of her she can have anything happen.

"I hope you have a good idea in mind, I would say he still has a chance of being a good person. But it is all up to you. You're the ruler of this land not me."

"My idea is a way that brings together all the people to watch something anybody can endure." Peach hinted. "You'll see when it comes around. I do have something to ask though, have you seen either Marrec or Enrique?"

"Negative." Rosalina replied anxiously. "Off grid in my sights ever since Wuhu." Rosalina looked down to see all of the papers placed on the map table. "What's all this about? This all here looks new to me." She began skimming through some of the papers about the Mushroom Accords, paying most attention to the negatively-affecting paragraphs. Peach brisk-walked around the table and pushed Rosalina away from the table, stopping her from reading.

"You don't want to be reading that." She said, standing between Rosalina and the table. "It's not for you to see and read. I should have had this put away and sealed before you arrived unexpectedly today." Rosalina looked back at her, forgetful of her place in this castle.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." She replied.

"No worries, I've just been rather busy over the past few days. You know, Wuhu and Bowser it's all been a bit of a catastrophe. At the same time your brother has been a bit annoying in terms of dealing with imprisonment." The mention of Rosalina's brother put her off.

"That's not my problem." Rosalina replied, not helping Peach at all. "You're trying to do everything at once." She noticed Peach was feeling very stressed. She could tell by looking into her inside feelings. Rosalina stared closely in to her mind whilst Peach groaned and looked around, trying not to make it obvious on what she was doing. She sensed the princess' final desire to rule over all, but the issues she is currently facing are causing a great hindrance on the path to her vision of success.

And it was then, Rosalina too, knew that Peach had changed for the worse.

"Peach, I think something's not right."

"I think it's time for you to leave." Peach got off from resting against the map table and started leading Rosalina out of the room. "We'll catch up another day. You just came at an inappropriate time." She had not found out Rosalina's reason for showing up unexpectedly, but Rosalina had collected what she had came here for: evidence. As she left the castle, the first place she would expect the twins to be (hearing about their escape) would be the Powerhouse. Fortunately for them, there were no Toad Patrol guarding anywhere north of the mountain range, so they would be well out of watch there...

 **The Powerhouse Peninsula**

 **3:40PM**

Rosalina magically appeared slowly on the grounds just in front of the Powerhouse. The Peninsula looked full of natural life and empty of civilisation as usual. She heard some noise other than the works of the powerhouse from inside, indicating that somebody was home. Hopefully she could catch a few minutes with the two teenagers before the Red Martyrs get an attempt at grasping on them. Eventually she decided to stroll her way through the chromic structures and wiring, passing through lots of control areas that she had no idea about. Then going up a vibrant staircase and finally seeing the two performing maintenance work. To the left she saw all the switches and code dials which managed the Spire's power supply, which gets distributed across the entire lands. Rosalina noticed all switches down except for the one nearest to her. The same switch was also slightly distant from the rest, and looked a bit different too.

"Come to say your goodbyes, Rosa?" Tobias questioned whilst sealing two wires together with tape.

"I need some answers before you leave." She said rather monotonously. She looked over at Duncan, further away than Tobias inspecting cables. "From you." She said again as he turned his attention towards her.

"What can I do for you?" He walked over, still looking clean from the wire-work.

"What are you boys hiding?..." She asked interrogatingly, peering over the short man.

"A lot of things actually." Duncan giggled. "It was as of this month we two developed our own 'cure of death'." He laughed louder than before. "But that's not what you're after, you need to be more specific Rosa."

"You two escape the Mushroom government, they're after you. They'll send the Red Martyrs on to you as well." She looked at Tobias and hinted him to stop sorting out the power wires and come closer.

"So? You think Tom didn't tell us that? The government haven't captured us for thousands of years." Duncan laughed again, Rosalina looked back at him confused.

"Thousands of years, it was only four years ago you boys jumped out of the window over there and went off-grid to the government." She snapped back at him.

"I swear it's been thousands of years. There's that whole one to two-forty conversion thing between worlds remember?" Rosalina let out a deep breath in response.

"That's a myth. It's an old story made up years ago. Do you really think it's been a thousand years? Look around, if it was a thousand years we'd be all in flying cars and everything. All the Toads and all the Koopas follow a similar Earth calendar. The reason why it's different is because of the portal, it screws around with time because it's interdimensional do you two know what that means?"

"Yes?" The two replied, slightly lost.

"Since the portals that you two buffoons use are developed here, hopping back to Earth creates a crack in time that you two spend a lot of time in. Most of the time you use those watches you're only living in simulations that don't account for time in the real world."

"So... you're telling me when we use these watches we really just pause time for ourselves and do what we want like when using that old time machine?" Duncan thought.

"Exactly, and you want to know why? Because I stole your Mark ten while you two were fucking around with those things. I spent weeks inside and turns out no time had passed at all." Rosalina replied. "The reason why the government have never seen you two is because you've both been invisible for the past five years."

"How did you know about this? The whole simulation thing, how did you know such a thing existed?"

"Because I read it in a book... a book of ancient magic and sorcery." Rosalina flexed her fingers and within her palm lay the mark ten portal device. She tossed it into Duncan's right hand, giving him two to hold. "I don't need it anymore." The two looked at their portals, having realised something they didn't know all this time until now.

"If you ever wondered how you two became perfectionists in almost everything then now you know why." Rosalina sat down on one of the seats near the operating table.

"Is there anything else we can help you with?" Tobias asked.

"That switch over there is for Isle Port in case you didn't notice, we fathomed some underground wires and managed to get our own house's power cables manageable." Duncan pointed.

"Wait that doesn't make sense." Tobias realised. "How did we interact with people just fine?"

"You've been living in a same loop each year round." Rosalina explained. "Since it's a new Earth year everything's different now as well. The things you thought were normal were all the same, and besides the only things you two do around here are educating yourselves and developing new tech. That same tech you keep bringing with you across portals. The time machine and those devices have been screwing up the space time and all the Lumas know it too. They can sense ruptures in space time." Duncan and Tobias looked incredibly confused.

"So, was it them that knew we were hidden all this time?"

"Yes."

"Damn, I guess a lot of the things we thought we did never really happened?" Rosalina shook her head. She began to unfold a mystical grid in front of the two's eyes, displaying what looked like a timeline. Within it showed a bright-golden main line with hundreds of smaller dim lines curving outward.

"Each one of these smaller lines represents ruptures in time, each eventually ending upon the next use of the portal devices." Rosalina used her magic to light up an area shortly after the beginning of 2012. "I presume you made your new devices then, these ones are the all the new timelines that last zero seconds in the real world. That's why there are thousands of these lines." She looked down to the two still staring at the timeline. "I would suggest you two leave those somewhere and never use them again."

"What about all the other devices, we never saw anything like this when using Muji's, and what about Tom's, and Enrique's, and Jack's?"

"Their devices don't have the problem of teleporting. You two go across distance in the same world, whereas the others switch worlds, and the return warp lasts a period of time based on how long they were on Earth. For example I can go to Earth for five minutes and it would make it look like I was there for twenty hours. That explains the two-forty issue. The extra time occurs in between worlds, but we don't feel this as time travels slowly when going interdimensional. One more thing, Muji developed these here, and had those written down. I bet you guys didn't see that when you stole them." The two looked at each other and gulped. "I bet you two don't even know what aspect of these devices causes the warps." Tobias took out his mark twelve and presented it to Rosalina.

"It's something to do with this pink light." He handed it over to her, revealing the small grey spherical device. It consisted of two buttons; one was painted with a darker shade of grey, indicating the activation button. The other, when pressed, projected a small, transparent and slightly inaccurate map of the lands on a grid. The pink light came from a luminous tiny substance built inside the device. It was the same substance found in every new device and it was responsible for the teleportation across the land. Rosalina got out her wand and pointed it at the device, deconstructing it and viewing all the components separate. She inspected the layout of the microchips and circuits connecting the substance together, creating the ability to travel.

"This isn't right." Rosalina said quietly, looking at the composition. "It's not the device that's causing all the ruptures." Duncan began to giggle.

"Not so smart now are you?" Rosalina smote him with her wand, pushing him back light.

"Ouch!" He reacted. "I was only joking."

"Let me have a look at this." She stared into the substance and noticed it wasn't perfectly stable. She began to spot it morphing ever so slightly in its position. The closer she looked at it the brighter it appeared to her. Tobias peered in closer as well, trying to see the changes in the tiny pink substance.

Seconds later Rosalina pushed away all other components of the device and sent the substance to the floor. She casted an intense light beam in anger, directly at the substance in attempt to destroy it, but it remained unscathed on the floor.

"What are you doing?" Tobias asked, looking at the pink substance on the floor. Rosalina picked it up and took it in her palm, keeping it as hers. She forced the other two devices out of the others' pockets and kept those for herself as well.

"The material in the devices, they don't cause any time ruptures. They make you insane. The layout that allows teleportation causes alternate realities that none should endure. Stick to your old versions." Rosalina confused the two of them yet again, now they were both unsure what was the truth about how time works in this land. "I need to read up on all this."

"Can you just brief us on all that's just happened?" Duncan asked, still sitting down in confusion.

"The old devices work as normal, you go to Earth to speed up time here. Do NOT use the time machine, or these things. They only make you relive alternate pasts." The two weren't sure on whether to trust them on this.

"What about the others from Earth, they still believe it's all one-to-two-forty."

"Time is one-to-one. The only things that obey the one-to-two-forty rule are the devices with this specific substance, and the time machine. Ever wondered why there was that selection for which version of the year? Remember when Tom came in January 2010, and you told him it was October? That was only because of the time machine. If you two idiots ever once interacted with the world around you you'd actually know what the real date was!" Rosalina shouted at the two.

"I would but it's not like anybody else out here knows how to manage this place. Go on, I bet you wouldn't know how even if you tried." Duncan complained back.

"Alright fine, it's easy. The fact that everyone says only you two know the codes is a myth." Rosalina walked over to the control table and inspected the switches.

"Turn on Isle Port's power then, go on." Tobias and Duncan watched Rosalina look at the system. She looked clueless, but eventually gave her first attempt at pulling the switch for Isle Port's power up. It seemed to be jammed for her.

"You have to activate the code first." Duncan pointed.

"It's a code, all it takes is for it to be shown to me and I can do it." Rosalina laughed back.

"The 1024-digit code?" She gulped. "That's right." Duncan mentioned. "Only we are able to remember it, and you're only given five minutes to activate it before it expires." He smiled. "I best it stays between us." Tobias walked over to the end of the top floor of the powerhouse and moved next to another dial. He typed in a much smaller code against the wall and upon it revealed a small box that emerged through the wall. Rosalina watched him take out two old devices, marks eight and nine.

"I believe you now have some explaining to do." Tobias asked Rosalina, referring to the devices. "What actually happens with these ones, because when we used to use them years back we would still experience a one-to-two-forty delay. We used these to skip nights in this land by spending a few minutes on Earth."

"I don't know." She replied bluntly. "That's something I cannot explain. My guess is something to do with delays when teleporting across dimensions. We non-Earthers do not understand how it all works, so it's what we told you when you two first came here years back as well. We told every Earther this."

"We'll find a solution soon enough." Duncan thought.

"What if Zane knows?" Tobias suggested to Duncan.

"Yeah Rosa, what about your brother?" Duncan looked back at Rosalina, who was staring back annoyed, resting against the control table.

"Zane... is prisoned within Mushroom City. The only way you can ask him is if we get through all the security at night."

"Well we can't use our devices, Rosalina took them away from us. Besides, how comes when we teleported here we didn't flip realities?"

"Because the Lumas were able to bring you back in to this one immediately." Rosalina replied.

"Besides Duncan, how are we supposed to get from here to Mushroom City _without_ our new devices?" Tobias looked back at Rosalina.

"The same way she does it. Magic." Duncan also looked at Rosalina. "Surely the magic of the Lumas can stop us from switching realities like all the apparent times we did before." She looked guilty for removing one of the two's best inventions. Yet the unknown pink substance they used for it is too corrupt for them to still possess them.

"You're not having these back. You're only allowed to go to Earth with the devices you have on you now."

"Then teach us how to teleport the way you do." Duncan interrogated, approaching Rosalina closely next to the control table. She backed her head slightly away from Duncan.

"You'll never know how to master the arts of sorcery and magic. I'm not even a professional and I've lived way longer than either of you two. You would need a wand for it as well, and these don't come around commonly." Rosalina threatened. Tobias began to move closer and closer to Rosalina around to her left as Duncan stood directly in front.

"We'll just have to take this one from you then!" Duncan pushed Rosalina back and put her arms in a lock on her sides. She was overwhelmed by the brute strength from this teenager despite being only just over five foot. She wondered how these two managed to become so strong. He attempted to snatch Rosalina's wand from her grasp, but was struck back with a light sting, refraining him from taking it.

"It's a simple spell, but quite unbreakable." She grinned whilst still being locked in position against the table by Duncan.

"Then I'll take it off your corpse!" Duncan shoved Rosalina to his left and pushed her aside. "Tobias, get me my axe!" He called out. Rosalina launched a beam of light towards Tobias but he leaped forward around Rosalina dodging the projectile. She wanted to chase Tobias as he ran downstairs but forgot about the other annoying teenager who pushed her back again. Rosalina hit the railings next to the staircase going back down in the Powerhouse, making her lose grip of her wand and making it fall downstairs.

"You dare pick a fight with the Lady of the Cosmos, I'm not afraid of getting dirty." She threatened Duncan, who slowly approached.

"You think you can fight better than me? I know how to fight far better than you, I've been practicing for a thousand years." He rushed forward and swung his fist at her, but she dodged. The two locked themselves in a fight that went on. As Tobias was returning upstairs with Duncan's 'axe' and a weapon of his own, he spotted the wand lying on the floor. He put the weapons aside on the floor and quickly made an attempt to grab the wand for himself, but was stung by it immediately upon making contact. He snapped, and rushed back upstairs with the axe on his back and a short sword in his left hand. It looked like Tobias was crawling up the stairs with the weight of the axe, but as he reached the top stair he rolled over and dropped the axe on the floor. Rosalina gasped looking at the size of the axe. It was a double-edged headsman's axe, almost as tall as Duncan himself. When she finally had the upper hand against him, she pushed him on to the floor, looking rather bruised. Rosalina made an attempt to jumped down the stairs to get her wand but was blocked by Tobias, wielding a sword and pointing it at her.

"We practice with weapons too." He said, stopping her in place. To her left she watched Duncan rush over to the giant axe on the floor, picking it up with one hand as if it was weightless. He readied his position with the axe in both hands now as Rosalina became surrounded by the two.

"How do you carry that thing?" She asked, still basking in the axe's size.

"It's only a little bit of magic." He taunted back.

"Give us the wand, unprotected." Tobias interrogated. He lowered his sword and slowly went forward to Rosalina, restraining her and putting the sword by her neck. Any retaliation and the two would attack her instantly. She was shivering in fear. Tobias walked with her downstairs and stood in front of the wand. He lowered the sword and let her reach down to grab the wand. Duncan crept around the two in place, making sure Rosalina can't escape.

"We need answers." Duncan said as Rosalina reached her wand. "Zane's the best chance we've got, since he doesn't lie." She unbound the spell to her wand and let it go from her grasp, leaving it on the floor again. Duncan picked up the wand and wielded it around without any pain.

"Give me the substance." Duncan asked again. Rosalina unfolded her palm and revealed the same substance in her hands out of nowhere. He snatched it from her. "I'll be back when I can." Duncan used the wand and vanished in front of the two's eyes, somehow knowing where to go. Afterwards, Rosalina fell forward effortlessly onto the floor, looking feeble and flushed. Tobias sat down on the bottom step and placed his sword on the floor next to them. He looked at Rosalina, her face turning a light red...

 **Peach's Castle Dungeons**

 **5:30PM**

Duncan appeared, hidden out of sight of any guard. He found himself at a familiar place on the bottom floors of the dungeons. He gathered it was the maximum security area, but the security didn't look very maximised at the moment. All he managed to see ahead of him were two Toads watching the door to the lowest cell. He also noticed a security camera showing outside of the cell and another one inside the cell. On the other side towards upstairs, he saw no guards. Time for him to make a move. Duncan placed the wand securely safe inside one of his pockets and strolled towards the two guards with his axe resting on his right shoulder. As he reached the doors the guards noticed him. One of the guards got out a walkie-talkie device and started speaking through it, sending a message to the other side. Only a few words in and Duncan swung his axe forth and smashed the device, carefully avoiding the skin and hand of the Toad using it. The Toad shrieked and jumped around scared, but Duncan quietened him.

"Relax, there's no need to be afraid. I'm only here for a brief moment. I'm here to speak to Zane." One of the guards immediately opened the cell door to let Duncan through. The second he walked into the cell the Toads closed the door behind him and locked it.

"You know there's a security camera." The second Toad guard mentioned.

"Not a problem." Duncan lunged his giant axe towards the camera, shattering it into pieces. The axe then fell back down on to the floor where Duncan went to pick it up immediately. It was completely undamaged, still looking perfect as usual. Zane lay cuffed in the corner of the cell, with his face looking down and making no interaction with Duncan so far. As Duncan approached him he eventually slowly looked upwards and stared into Duncan's eyes.

"Boy, you look different." Zane said quietly. Duncan stopped directly in front of him and sat down cross-legged. He placed his axe on his right side.

"I'm afraid I'm not here to rescue you. That would put both of us in grave danger." He looked up. "I need answers."

"Answers to what?"

Duncan coughed gently. "I've been told by a certain sister of yours how time really works here, and that it's not the whole one-to-two-forty rule the princesses and government always told us Earthers when we came here."

"One-to-two-forty? What does that mean?" Duncan got the impression Zane had no idea about what the princesses used to say it was, or he was never told it himself. "As far as I am aware the time scale here is exactly the same as Earth, even the same calendar is used."

"One-to-two-forty basically implies that one second spent on earth is equivalent to four minutes of time in this world."

"That's definitely bogus my friend."

"I just need a few responses to some events as forms of evidence to back this claim of yours." Duncan began. "I need your view on the recruitment in 2010, any forms of time delay in the time machine and any delays between warping back to Earth."

"The time machine is a big lie built by the government used to puppet this whole idea of time in earthers' minds."

"How does it relate to the recruitment of the two boys? Their initiation lasted for a few days if I recall correctly. They were then told that it only lasted a couple hours on Earth."

"Listen here." Zane beckoned. "Tom was taken here on January 18, 2010, his nineteenth birthday. The initiation ended on January 22, 2010. Tom spent months here before ever returning to Earth but since his parents left him instead of reporting missing, you know what Brooklyn's like right, he decided to stay here for the past five years. Since then, Tom was never really aware about any fake idea Peach or anybody else told him. The same goes to Enrique, the two rarely visit Earth."

"One thing you need to ask me, how does time work when switching between worlds?"

"That's an easy one. Each trip from one world to another takes approximately 4 hours but is not felt by any traveller. This only applies to the portal devices you lot made, the ones like the Brooklyn pipe are almost instant however. They simply just spend it within the teleporting void and feel like no time has passed at all." Duncan became startled, surprised to hear something rather accurate and legitimate.

"But what about those times when Tobias and I warp back to Earth for entire weeks, months even?"

"Then you still follow that same 4 hour delay... Answer me this have you ever felt like you've missed out on hundreds of years-worth of events? It doesn't seem true if you ask me." Zane debunked the government-made-up idea of time relativity.

"I can't really tell half the time, I don't think so when I was ten or eleven, but apparently Tobias and I have been spending thousands of years living in different realities because of our new portal devices."

"Yes I heard a lot about that, the Lumas tell me everything back when I was 'nice'. That's why whenever you guys appear on Earth you tend to disappear straight after, thinking that you spent a long time here. No wonder the governments nor the Red Martyrs were ever able to catch you two after you went invisible... or even the likes of us for that matter when you upgraded those devices. If you schoolboys ever wondered how you can spend what feels like days here and still fit the time in-between your school lunches and breaks it is because of those devices, not those stupid fibs Peach or whoever else told you about how time works. I wonder how you guys were able to pull off such an insomniaic invention. Tell me, what was the tweak you guys put in to those new devices?" Duncan reached out from his pocket, unveiling the small moving pink substance associated with the new devices. As soon as Zane caught a glimpse of the glow, his eyes widened and he turned berserk.

"Cursed, cursed!" He panicked and backed to the wall, trying to distance himself as far away from Duncan as possible. "Get out of here and get rid of that thing! Never use those portal devices again!" He shrieked. Duncan took his words and placed the substance back into his pocket. He then grabbed his axe and unpocketed Rosalina's wand, attempting to use it to escape from the prison.

"This thing isn't working." He complained at Zane, who was on the other side of the room.

"You must leave the room for it to do anything. Magic doesn't work within these walls. But leave now!" Duncan made his way to the locked cell door. He lifted his axe up and let out a mighty swing forward, breaking the door down easily.

"Come Zane, we can both escape using magic." Duncan wished for Zane to come with him but he refused.

"I'm too dangerous to be freed. Go, before it's too late." Zane called out before Duncan exited, and within seconds he had warped out of the cell caverns and disappeared before any Toads could get to him. All they saw when maximum armed security had arrived was a busted down door and Zane still in his cell, cuffed to the walls. Behind the army of Toad guards was Princess Peach, making an entrance to the cells.

"Has he escaped?" Peach asked the guards whilst approaching forward, looking at the destroyed cell door. She heard muttering amongst many of the guards, all looking around at the scraps and bits of the destroyed door.

"He's still here in the cell." The guards alerted her. The muttering continued as the guards made way for Peach to approach the entrance of the cell. She still saw Zane looking down on the ground, shivering whilst being cuffed. "There's also a destroyed surveillance camera too, among the scraps." "Bring me the footage of the inner camera." She went straight past the guards and entered the cell. Zane looked up and stared at Peach, slowly approaching him and then stopping in the middle of the room, kneeling down in front of him. "Tell me who was here."

"Why should it matter? He's gone anyway. There's no way you can catch him." Zane replied, grinning in front of Peach's eyes. His deceitful look barely changed her stance; it only made her question more.

"Him... not... them?" She asked again, having a slight clue on which boy it was.

"The younger one... he has an axe, a huge one too." That's all Zane gave to her, before looking back down again, still with a horrific smile on his face.

"What was he here for?" Peach asked. "Reply to me!" He said nothing back. Zane was no use to her anymore.

She got up from her knees and started making her way back out of the cell. Several Toad guards secured the area so that the prisoner could make no attempt to escape, even though it didn't look like he wanted to any time soon. Peach wiped the plain look from her face and marched forth upstairs and out of the dungeons, heading straight to the surveillance room just before the entrance underground. There many Toad workers managed all the CCTV within the castle and the underground dungeons. A few seconds upon arrival she asked for the footage over the past couple of minutes within the period of Duncan's appearance in the cell. She watched as he destroyed one camera and walked into the cell smoothly.

"Turn the volume up." She nudged one of the Toads working at the computer desk where the screens showing the cell were. She leaned forward to have a look at the screen, resting her hands on the two operators' seats. Peach listened in to the discussion Zane was having with the teen. She even noticed the wand sticking out of one of his trouser pockets. From there she knew Rosalina played a part in this treachery, building a lot of distrust between the two. If only there was a way she could get her to submit her loyalty as proof, now that the accords have been sent out.

She kept listening, but as soon as Duncan mentioned the words 'one-to-two-forty' she knew what he came for.

"Stop the tape." She ordered, and the Toads stopped it immediately. "Fast forward it." The Toads played the tape at a faster rate so that the dialogue between the two in the cell became undecipherable. "Stop." She said again, right as Duncan got up and collected his axe. There she watched him throw it against the cell door, busting it open. Peach watched the tape end, and stood up straight as it did so.

"I need eyes in the sky and land. That boy needs to be captured. I need him on the top list along with Koopak and the other boy." She sent an order to the guards in the room. "I need contact with the Red Martyrs; those two boys are on the watchlist. I need them to check the Spire to see if they are there. Final order, we're transferring Zane to a different prison until we fix this door, should be a few days. Send him to North Sirenna Prison for the time being." She gave out her final order.

"And what if they aren't there my princess?" A toad guard asked.

"Then they're back where they belong."

 **The Powerhouse, the Spire Peninsula**

Duncan magically appeared back in the Powerhouse building, upstairs he went to see Tobias and Rosalina sitting and nattering on seats near the operating table. Tobias had his sword put away and the two both looked very cheerful to be in one another's company. As Duncan reached the top of the stairs the two's nattering faded and they turned around to see him return. Duncan tossed back Rosalina's wand and lowered his axe.

"I've been told everything." He opened up conversation. The two looked at him still quiet. Duncan began to walk forward with his axe lowered. "Sorry I may have been a little aggressive on you earlier. You know I wouldn't want to kill you, just needed to see if you could fight as all." Rosalina grinned. "You told me what I thought was a lie, and I had to see the truth behind it." He placed his axe in a corner well away from the others, and pulled up a seat next to the two.

"You don't like the type of person to wield such a thing. I can't even imagine Bowser lifting that. It must be a fake." Rosalina stated, going off topic.

"Give it a shot yourself then." Duncan said. Rosalina got off her chair and walked over to the axe. At the same time, Duncan chatted to Tobias about the truth of the time travel and going across worlds using portals. As Duncan was explaining, Tobias looked over to see Rosalina give an attempt at lifting the axe. She could barely move it using both her hands.

"That's real all right." She said, taking a deep breath and panting for a short moment afterwards.

"Anyways, truth is. Any use of a portal device gives a 4 hour delay when switching worlds, but using the natural ones takes no time at all." Duncan explained to Tobias. "That means we can stay on Earth for a few days until this whole deal with Bowser gets sorted, then we'll play things out afterwards." Rosalina overheard the last bit of their conversation.

"You two are going back to Earth? For how long?" She asked.

"Until this trial with Bowser is sorted. I feel bad for the man but if it's his time then it's his time. It should only be over a few weeks though surely."

"You two can't go already; we've only just seen each other. It's been ages since we last saw you two guys and it's always fun when you're around." Rosalina begged, despite being in a fight with Duncan just an hour ago.

"The government wants us, we can't turn ourselves in." Duncan replied, upsetting Rosalina lightly.

"I don't hate Peach, but I would never bow down to her." Tobias added. "It's not in our way of life around here." Rosalina grew upset on the inside. She really didn't want some of the realest friends she has here disappear yet again. Every time she was in the presence of these two she felt entertained which became one of the factors as to why she doesn't travel on her cosmic 100 year voyages anymore. It reminded her what it was like to be neutral and how fun it can be sometimes.

"I will get back to you on any information about Bowser's trial." Rosalina added.

"We'll visit for brief moments, just to see what's happening. If it's not safe then don't expect us to be around for a while."

"It all depends on what Peach has decided it to be." Duncan took his axe and Tobias took his sword, the two picked out their old portal devices and got ready to return to Earth.

"Send word to Muji, tell him we're sorry." Duncan said just before the two pressed their devices in sync. Rosalina nodded.

"And if there's any problem with the Spire or the Powerhouse, get people to fix it, before it spreads horribly across the land. Then we'll be having real problems." Tobias finished. Seconds later the two vanished from the top floor of the Powerhouse. All the switches were in their correct positions. Hopefully no failures were to occur with the power.

She stood silently, looking at the place the two used to be standing on. Her face turned a light red, with a few tears coming from her eyes. She could see it in their look that they would stick to their word and not come back as a surprise, and if so they wouldn't be back to stay now that they've been told by her and Tom that they're wanted by both the council and the government. The hostiles wouldn't do much either, yet they're not yet known to be the new coming threat to the south.

Times are changing, and Rosalina was unsure how to react to it at first. Her first thought in her head was to return to the comet observatory. Being told to leave by princess Peach and having the accords (with her not knowing what they are) hidden from her sight. If the twins are wanted, and Tom and Enrique banished as well shown by her seeing Tom get taken away before her very eyes she wondered if she'd become next. She only read a small passage of the accords concerning the capturing of those who do not submit to the crown, it's likely to include her. Rosalina had a few names in mind for people to see now. Bowser and his Koopalings are definitely at his castle she thought, since they'd be locked there until the day of his trial. Jack Akbal was another option, but she's unsure where he is. The last mention of him or any of Tom's friends such as George and Toby were quite some time ago, he foresaw a day where all of them would be banished from the kingdom and sent to Castelia, so he told her about it. Rosalina assumed Jack would be in his hideout in Castelia, but she had no idea how to get to it as it was underground. Tom's friends' location was unknown to her, all she could think of is the possibility that they're all in the Mushroom Kingdom somewhere, but they'd have probably been caught by now and banished. Other people she thought of seeing were Mario and Luigi, but she assumed they would snitch on her and make her abide to the crown. And since the Red Martyrs were of no use to her now, the last possible person to look for help would be Zane's own sidekick Marrec Hudson, another human of average size and grey-hair, and also a sorcerer of much less skill compared to that she knew of Zane's. She thought he'd be in Castelia too since it was where he spent most of his days, learning new magic or aiding innocents and hostiles alike. Now that Zane was captured he may journey south in attempt to rescue him.

"Bowser it is." Rosalina said to herself, setting voyage to his castle.

 **EOC: I will most likely be releasing a Prologue Extract every 19 chapters or so, leading to there being 3 or 4 depending on how many chapters there will be in this fanfic. From my judgement there'll probably be around 80 chapters. I hope to finish it within the next 2 years.**

 **I hope this clears the whole mystery behind how time works and I hope this also fixes some confusion people may have got within the period between the end of Speed Dials and Chapter 1, since Speed Dials ends on the night of January 1 and Chapter 1 begins on January 5. (The earlier mentions in early chapters are Koopak's arrival at Wuhu Airport at the same time as this extract, and Tom's friends arriving in Sirenna Beach on January 4)**

 **Going back to the timeframe of these extracts; there may be periods in future chapters set within the days January 7-10 as there was a jump in them as well, but the main purpose and content will include reasoning behind a lot of the events happened previously. Remember they are also optional.**


	21. Reformation

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 20 – Reformation

 **A/N: Results for the past four races can be found in the chapter 19 – Maple Treeway.**

 **Important Notice: This chapter is released after the 'The Terrible Truth about Time' prologue, so all dates are fully normalised. Also this chapter marks the beginning of the second quarter.**

 **Peach's Castle, Mushroom City**

 **January 21, 2015 – 5:00PM**

Bodies were scattered on the floor in to the infirmary room well out of sight. Behind the operating area was a doorway to another small secluded room filled with medical equipment. The bodies were then changed to be put there for further safety.

Peach was safely wrapped up in the medical bed duvet and completely unseen from the outside. Tom carried the body from the front and Enrique on the back, with Rosalina ahead of the two searching for safe passages outside the castle. By this time they had sneaked out of Toad Town and circled around the eastern edge of the city, heading into the meadow plains northeast of the city and just west of Acorn Plains. The plain was one of few areas unaffected by new technology and mainly consisted of vintage question blocks and paths leading northward. The memories of Enrique's first time here came back into his head, as it was the same path that spanned all the way from the caverns to Toad Town's southeast entrance. The path was wide and dirt paved, continuing north after the turn to the hill where the caves began. Next to the hill lied the overgrown great pipe, which seemed inactive. The switch to enable its portal was currently off, and only accessible on the side of Muhu Delfethal. Rosalina led on ahead going in to the cave first, turning left after proceeding down a dirt staircase. The cave was lit up brightly and carried on for hundreds of metres, expanding in height as they ventured down.

"Take a left here." Tom ordered as they reached the bottom of the section. The cave spanned metres high and several metres across in width, filled with multiple tunnel sections. The three took the first left in the row of exits and travelled through a narrower cave passage compared to normal, which at the end led to the second of three direct portals to Earth. This one was much smaller than the great pipe which led to Brooklyn, but larger than the third which's location was unknown to the three. "Go through it slowly; there isn't as much room on the other side." He instructed.

Unlike the great pipe, the other two portals were constructed recently. This portal was actually the most recent to be created, with the third being created years before in August 2008. The portal within the cave led to Bexley in England and was created by Tom in August 2012. It was currently switched off, and Rosalina did not know how to turn it back on. The ground was dirty and both Tom and Enrique didn't want to ruin the duvet they were carrying.

"How do I turn this thing on?" Rosalina asked Tom, looking at the switch.

"Carry the duvet for me." Tom walked over to her and passed the front of the wrap. As she collected the front he walked over to the switch and took off a necklace he had been wearing for years. The necklace had a luminous gem which was detachable and was used to turn on the portal. Behind the switch was an inlaid mold with the same shape as the necklace's gem. When Tom took the gem out of the necklace and placed it in the mold, it allowed him to pull the switch to enable the portal. The darkness that was at the end of the portal lit up and revealed the other side, a small room with walls made entirely out of aluminium with a small door hatch on the right side. Tom took the gem out of the mold and placed it back on the locket of his necklace. The switch stayed on and the portal was not closable unless the gem was placed back in the mold. The three stepped forth and went through, opening up the door hatch leading to what looked like another wall to Rosalina and Enrique. What they both did not see was a sliding door handle on the left edge. Tom grabbed the handle and moved the wall to the right, revealing Tom's old office. The lights were off and the view outside was pitch black, even though it was the afternoon back in the Mushroom Kingdom.

"It's so dark outside, are we on the other side of the world or something?" Rosalina asked the other two inside the office.

"Pretty much." Tom replied. "It is also winter season here, meaning the days are really short. This is because we are in the northern hemisphere, whereas I think we are in the southern hemisphere in Muhu Delfethal."

"I see."

The three carried Peach towards the car park of the old school Tom used to work in, all the way from the office on the top floor of the main building. Only streetlights were the source of light around for them to see the road, as there were neither cars nor anybody in sight. Hopefully Tom could search for his old car he hoped to be left around in the car park and not taken away due to his absence. The ground was wet and dirty, for it had been raining recently. Rosalina squealed around the puddles in the car park trying not to get her biker outfit stained. In the distance Tom spotted his old Lexus CT which he wished he could bring over to Muhu Delfethal and show off. Rosalina's eyes widened at the sight of the sapphire vehicle.

"Put her in the back Enrique." Tom got his car keys that he had been keeping this entire time out from his pocket and unlocked the car's doors and boot. Enrique heaved the body wrapped in the duvet on his shoulder and opened up the boot with his left hand, slowly unloading Peach into the boot.

"This car looks amazing." Rosalina basked in what she thought was beauty. "They sure look different to the ones back in the other world."

"Look all around you, other people's cars." Tom showed Rosalina, before going into the driver's seat.

"Some of them look really nice, but some people really need to give their vehicles a clean." She said, making her way around the front of the car to the front passenger seat. Enrique was standing directly between her and the door, interrupting her while she was staring back at Tom.

"Going somewhere?" Enrique sniggered. Rosalina frowned, sighed, and walked around Enrique and opened up the middle left door and leaned forward to duck and step into the vehicle.

"It's quite a low vehicle." Rosalina pointed out, looking around at the interior design.

"It's not for racing." The two replied. "If you lived a childhood on Earth nowadays you'd be questioning a lot less." Enrique added.

"I've visited Earth for thousands of years in the past I have you two know." She tried to sound superior to the two.

"And how much of it do you remember?" Enrique asked back. "Earth changes far more rapidly than your world, probably because there are far more people living on this planet."

"More than a million?" Rosalina assumed.

"Seven billion, that's seven thousand million." She gasped with surprise.

It took the three half an hour to get through mild traffic and reach the closest hospital for them to take Peach into. Since Rosalina and Peach were in their biker outfits people didn't seem to pay much attention to them as they hurried through the hospital. The only turns of heads they would get are ones in response to seeing an unconscious human wrapped in a blanket. The secretary at the front desk stood up and dropped the phone she was using.

"We need to see the nearest doctor, urgently!" Tom shouted as he hurried to the desk. The secretary got up and moved from her desk, responding to them and escorting them swiftly to the nearest ward, calling for additional support at the same time. The ward was filled with several vacant doctors and nurses, all responding quickly to seeing Peach. They unravelled the blankets and laid her down on the closest bed.

"What caused the incident?" One of the doctors asked Tom and Enrique as Peach rested on the bed. Other doctors began measuring her pulse if there was one and preparing equipment to operate with.

"Motorcycling accident." Enrique replied. "We cleaned her up before bringing her here, none of us had any signal to call the ambulance."

"999 is an emergency number, you don't need signal for it." The doctor said back to Enrique. Rosalina looked at his face, worried.

"Sorry, I did not know, I am not from this country." Enrique replied.

"Can we have a name for this patient?"

"...Achep." Enrique said back. "Just leave it like that for now."

"We need a full name I'm afraid."

"Achep Dolostato." Tom interrupted. "That's her full name."

"...Achep... Dolostato..." The doctor finished writing down the patient's name. "We're first going to run our diagnostics on her to see what the problem is. If it helps you, you are welcome to wait outside."

"I need to see if she is okay." Rosalina begged to the doctor.

"In order for us to work at our best, we really would appreciate it if you didn't." The doctor redirected the three out of the room and to the seats outside of the private ward. She stared through the small door window as it closed on her, seeing the group of medics hurdle around Peach on the bed.

"I don't like what I'm seeing." She said to Tom and Enrique.

"Relax." Enrique cheered. "They'll sort it out in a matter of minutes or hours hopefully. She'll be back to the other world soon enough ready to lead and prepare those races she has in store. Besides, which one is next?"

"Koopa Cape." Rosalina said quickly.

"Ah yes, I keep forgetting somehow." Enrique grinned. "Reminds me of that time I saw you from the cliffs there, Tom. It was the first time I saw the Cape."

"Oh you were there? Spying on me? Yeah that was when I first met Dunc and Tob; we definitely have to see those guys someday soon." Tom laughed.

"Don't they live around here on Earth?"

"But I don't know the exact location, plus I wouldn't want to waste time looking for them when we're on a tight schedule thanks to a certain someone in the other room."

 _SEVERAL MINUTES LATER..._

One of the nurses opened up the door to the waiting area where the three were sitting.

"You three are welcome to come in now." The nurse addressed them, leading them back inside. "We detected a coma leading to some memory loss, it seems also that we cannot fully decipher the condition Achep is in, and she doesn't seem to know where she is either."

"Enrique, tell them where I am from!" Peach yelled from across the room, frightening some of the nurses in the room. He sighed, and walked over to Peach first.

"There there... you'll be fine." He comforted her, even though he thought nothing would be wrong with her besides the coma.

"I am fine though, what are you talking about, it's these people that shouldn't be here, where are the guards?"

"This is what we're trying to get across; she thinks she is some sort of princess from a magical kingdom."

"I think she was a big fan when she was younger." Enrique said back to the doctors and nurses.

"Is she healthy? You know, besides all of the aesthetic effects?" Tom asked them.

"We think so, but we will log this patient on our special list in case something happens. That way if she ever has a similar effect we will give you priority in this ward. Here is the secretary's number." The head doctor handed Enrique over a piece of paper with the phone number and other important details. "She can leave here for now, but she is not allowed to move about a lot, and be very careful on her back. That's a very unique type of wound and it should be left alone for the time being. I suggest she rests at wherever you lot are staying at.

"I'm perfectly fine thank you very much." Peach interrupted.

"Be quiet please." Enrique looked at her seriously.

"You will be fine when you rest my dear." The nurses awkwardly smiled. "Now who here is the one mostly connected to Achep?"

"It's Pe-."

"That would be me." Enrique quickly interrupted Peach before she could finish. He got up and moved towards the other side of the bed and hurdled around the group of nurses, getting him to sign some papers dealing with the withdrawal of Peach from the hospital.

"What are you doing?" Peach called out again.

"Calm down, we'll be out shortly, then we will talk about things." Rosalina calmed her.

"What's this all about?" Tom asked.

"It's just contact details." Enrique replied, winking to Tom. After a few more seconds everything was filled in and Peach was ready to get off of her patient bed.

"Thankfully we have the outfit she was in cleaned but it's really cold outside so we advise she wears it all."

"That will be fine with us." Enrique passed over the biker outfit to Peach. "Come on, put it on quickly."

"That's no way to address me!" Peach growled.

Enrique sighed. "She must have been injured more than we thought in the head."

"And the back to, to save her from taking her clothes off to show you lot we took a picture just before operating." The nurses showed Enrique and Tom the picture of Peach's back, it showed a massive dark red rupture scab spanning across the middle of her back.

"Jesus Christ." Tom gasped at the size of the wound. "That looks terrible."

"Thankfully there is no bleeding, but we have it plastered for safety." The nurses handed the picture over to Enrique, who folded it up and placed it firmly in his coat pocket.

"I take it we are done here then?" Enrique checked.

"Yes everything is fine good man; there is no need to rush." The nurses cheered.

"Good." Enrique walked over to Peach and helped her up from the bed.

"I can walk out myself now." She turned over to the nurses whilst being whispered to by Enrique. "Thank you all for helping me out, I am sorry if I was a nuisance to some of you." The nurses smiled back and Tom and Rosalina followed the others out. The four walked together briskly through the corridors en route to the entrance to get back to the car.

"So where exactly am I?" Peach asked the other three walking quickly.

"England, a nearby hospital, we tried to get you awake as soon as possible." Enrique replied. "The Toad doctors back at the castle said it would take them far too long to wake you up. One of us had the idea to take you here instead. Plus it's only been about two hours since we got here. It's still the evening of the same day you fell asleep."

"Quick question, why did I fall asleep, did they tell anything to you while I was asleep?"

"The only problem with the doctors here is that they had no idea, since this was probably something to do with those nightmares you keep having." Enrique found Peach's mysterious case more and more believable. "When we get back we'll talk about it more." The four almost reached the entrance to the hospital. "You two get Peach back to the car, I've got to sign some things at the front desk to do with what happened today." As Enrique separated from the three he watched them head outside before signing a last paper at the front desk. Taking it with him, he walked out soon after, but was quickly held back by someone else just outside. It was a rather young blond person, showing a similar resemblance to Enrique when he was around fifteen.

"Can I help you?" He asked the teen rather loudly. The teen was trying to quieten Enrique. He went up to Enrique's ear and whispered. "I don't know exactly who you are, but those two girls that walked outside are connected to you and not from around here... if you know what I mean." Enrique leaned away from the teen and looked back at him with suspicion.

"Have we met before?" Enrique asked.

"That room in the school, it's a portal isn't it?" The teen questioned.

"You are mistaken." Enrique took the teens grasp off of his arm and started walking away.

"Duncan visits there a lot of times when he's at that school." Enrique stopped moving and was tempted to turn around and respond back, but instead he resumed moving back to the car. The teen was blond, so there was no chance he was Duncan or Tobias, he looked nothing like either of them either.

He got back into the car. Rosalina and Peach were sitting in the back waiting patiently whilst Tom started the engine.

"You were there for quite some time." Tom pointed out. "What kind of things did you have to sign?" He looked back at Enrique who was staring directly straight after he had buckled himself in quickly.

"I didn't really read much about it, but whatever it is it should be irrelevant to us considering the fact that Peach shouldn't have to go there again." Enrique replied, looking to his left back at the hospital buildings.

"I remember the nurses talked about something to do with your back." Rosalina turned to Peach, attempting to query about it. "What's that all about?" Enrique took out the picture from his coat and passed it over to Rosalina. She unfolded it and flipped it over to see the large dark scab that was on her back. "How long have you had this for?" She asked her.

"Since I woke up I believe, I can barely remember anything before that in the short-term. We had the race, came back and all of a sudden, I'm here." Peach elaborated.

"No dream, no nothing?" Enrique questioned.

"Not this time."

"It seems like whatever has come to hunt you has left a bit of itself behind." He suggested. "Let's go back now, before anybody notices her now."

"Why would you assume something like that would happen?" Tom wondered, still looking directly at Enrique.

Enrique frowned, trying not to make eye contact back with Tom as he was driving out of the car park. Instead he checked the entrance to the hospital to see if the same person was staring at him from afar; he wasn't anywhere to be seen. "No reason, anything can happen." He finished.

 **Peach's Castle Infirmary, Mushroom City**

 **9:30PM**

It had not been very long since the four had left the world in search for a faster, better way of waking Peach up from her coma. Hopefully, all of the mediocre Toad doctors and nurses were still unconscious, along with Luigi, Daisy and Pauline. The four reached the room and noticed the door was still barricaded and the bodies were kept away from anybody who would have checked in. Rosalina re-opened the door and walked through the infirmary corridor to where the bodies were. She checked to see if there were the same amount of people as there were when they left, she counted all of the doctors correctly, but found out one of the other three were missing. Luigi was on the floor sleeping, Daisy was too, but Pauline was not around.

"Pauline's missing." Rosalina informed the other three.

"What? Why are they all lying on the floor?" Peach screamed and panicked around the infirmary room as she noticed the bodies.

"Shh shut up, now's not a time to be making noise." Tom sealed Peach's mouth.

"Relax, Tom." Rosalina grinned. "Sound will not wake them." She approached the bodies, getting closer to them, and then squatted down to see how they looked. "I don't want to wake them just yet, since Pauline's missing." She looked around and checked other parts of the rooms to see if Pauline may have been placed somewhere she had not yet checked. "This spell isn't supposed to be broken simply or have a chance to not happen. I've mastered this one by now."

"But why are they all asleep?" Peach whispered this time.

"Rosalina had to put them all to sleep in order for us to take you out of here and across to England where we could get other people to wake you up sooner. These people said you wouldn't be awoken for at least another day if I can recall, and we have too many things to do in such a short time period." Tom replied rather quickly.

"Another reason why you're regulated laws have their flaws." Enrique said out of spite.

"Was I aware of this demon taking over my life slowly?" Peach cried, raising the pitch of her voice gradually. Her breathing became louder, so she slowly walked over to the bed that she was lying on when she was here unconscious and rested on it for now.

"I think you need to relax, Peach." Enrique tried to calm her. "I'm pretty sure demonic powers do not exist around here, not anymore I believe."

"Well it does worry me, and I do try my best to get it out of my head." Peach began to feel sharp pains on her back, irritating her and making her wail quietly. "It's my back!" She attempted to scratch it as Tom and Enrique stood around her on each side of the bed, the pain got worse as she began scratching.

"Stop scratching it!" Tom ordered. "You're making it worse." He grabbed Peach's soft hands and held them away from her back, trying to get her to stop scratching.

"But it hurts!" She moaned.

"I know it does! You need to sit up." He suggested.

"But I'm exhausted." She sat up straight on the sheetless bed and placed her arms forward. Eventually she either got used to the sharp pain or it did not appear as bad to her now that she was sitting up.

"Stay like that, or get off the bed even." Enrique thought. "What are we going to do about those people in there?" He asked Rosalina, who was still inside thinking about what could have happened to Pauline.

"The door is open!" A voice was heard from somewhere outside the infirmary. It was the sound of a familiar Toad voice, the voice was followed by several stumpy footsteps getting louder and louder as many Toads approached the entrance to the main infirmary room. "Quickly now everybody." The same voice called out from outside, the three inside the main room watched Toadsworth and a few other Toad castle workers approach the doorway. Peach gave a light wave to Toadsworth as he became startled to see Peach awake and appearing healthy.

"She is awake, Toadsworth." One of the Toads said in excitement. Toadsworth smiled.

"Indeed." He said. "It's great to see you looking better, do you know what happened?" His smile began to disappear away. "Where are the doctors?" He was concerned at how Peach was only seen in the room with both Tom and Enrique.

"Doctors?" Enrique said back as if he was confused. "They've not been here for ages, their job was amazing. Have you not seen them?"

Toadsworth was silent for a few seconds. "No." He said back. "None of us have seen any of them."

"They didn't really say where they were going after she awoke. So I assume they went where they would be expected to go." Enrique replied back. The group of people in the room noticed Rosalina return from the corridor.

"A-and where are Luigi, Daisy and the others?" Toadsworth asked again. Tom shrugged. "You don't know?" He asked again.

"Peach wanted some time alone from most people, she said this when she woke up." Enrique convinced. Peach nodded in agreement. "Luigi and Daisy went somewhere together."

"Probably in Daisy's quarters... if you know what I mean." Tom grinned, and put up a fake laugh, making the Toads around Toadsworth laugh as well. However, Toadsworth did not laugh as much as the rest.

"Haha... and what about Pauline?" Toadsworth looked very concerned to the others now. "Something doesn't seem right here."

"That we don't actually know." Tom replied. "I think she left literally at the same time you did, she never really went into this room with us."

"She did say she couldn't bear to watch Peach lay down unconscious, I'm sure she wasn't here." Rosalina backed Tom up.

"Yeah she wasn't here." Enrique finished.

"Really..." Toadsworth pretended to agree with them. He turned to Rosalina and stared to the corridor just behind Rosalina. The lights were still on in the room, and lots of medical equipment looked unused.

"Everything all right there mister Toadsworth?" Rosalina questioned his frozen look. "Why are you staring at me?"

"I'm not staring at you." He replied smoothly, evading the chance of him being perceived as a creep. "I'm staring at the room behind you." Toadsworth turned to the direction he was facing and approached Rosalina slowly. "May you let me pass?" He asked her. Rosalina sidestepped out of his way and let him proceed forward. Tom and Enrique began to feel a sense of unease thinking that the bodies would still be there. They could only assume she would knock Toadsworth out too.

They watched him turn his head leftwards to look around the small room of cabinets on all sides, too small to store bodies. He didn't appear to say anything afterwards.

"Well I'll be damned." Toadsworth said loudly from across the corridor. "I still don't trust you all." He walked out of the room and back into the main room where the rest were watching him awkwardly. Toadsworth looked once more to Peach, who was already looking better to him than when he last saw her. "I wish you a swift recovery." He bows in front of her and begins to leave with the rest of his Toad group. The sound of silence was at hand as they distanced further from the infirmary. Tom slowly sidestepped in through the hall to see if there was anything suspicious hidden in the back room.

"What did you do?" He called out from the back room, amazed to also see nothing... or nobody in there. "Some sort of spell?" Enrique headed over as well, to see those inside eventually appear. For a short moment as he arrived he did witness the re-appearance of the unconscious doctors, Luigi and Daisy. Pauline was still missing.

"Exactly that." Rosalina replied, walking over to the room and leaving Peach on the bed. "The problem is what we're going to say to them when I wake them."

"Where is Pauline?" Tom asked again.

"I don't know."

She approached the bodies and began laying them out comfortably along the floor of the back room, and in a few more seconds she moved her hands around and woke them all up at the same time, that way there would be less time worrying about explaining to them what happened.

"Leave the room." Rosalina ordered the others as movement began to occur amongst those on the floor. She watched some eyelids open slowly as if they all had a long sleep. Unable to bear the awkwardness, Rosalina sidestepped out of the room as well and returned to the others surrounding Peach.

"You've just got to play with it ok Peach?" Rosalina walked in mid-conversation of the others.

"Are they alright?" Peach asked. "I can't trust whether or not you've put some nasty side-effect on whatever you did to them." She said quietly.

"Trust me." Rosalina replied. "The only thing that we need to worry about is how you got that big mark on your back."

"Maybe Zane would know about it-."

"Peach!" Daisy rushed over towards the bed from the back room and made an attempt to leap over and give Peach a big hug. "You're ok!" She said as she was doing it. Rosalina quickly stepped in the way and prevented Daisy from leaping, for Peach was not to be moved around with the painful mark on her back.

"Stop!" Tom shouted. It seemed like the sight of seeing Peach awake and looking better was more important than the fact that she was asleep for several hours. "She isn't to be touched; she has a horrible mark on her back that is not to be looked upon."

"My queen, are you ok? We thought we were working on you but all of a sudden we appeared on the floor in there." One of the Toad doctors asked, looking at her and seeing her better.

"I want nothing of you lot, leave here now. But thank you I am doing much better."

"...My queen?"

"Leave me! And speak nothing of this day to anyone! Or it's the cells!" She raised her voice and ordered them a second time.

"Yes my queen, sorry my queen." The doctors headed out of the room and left the area quickly, Peach slid slowly down the bed with relief, trying not to make contact with the surface with her scab.

"Too many things are happening at the same time." She moaned. "Or at least can I not endure all of this pain at the same time?" Her distress began to worry Daisy slightly, but she eventually learned to get used to witnessing Peach suffer. It was like the cost of properly ruling to her, since Bowser is no longer a large threat.

"Speaking of those Toads... and us too, how did we end up in there?" Luigi asked. "And where is Pauline?" Enrique walked over to Luigi and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Basically." He began. "We went to Earth with Peach to wake her up; it would have taken far much longer if we let these... workers do it for her. Citizens here have not really done much of this stuff ever, since it doesn't happen to them. We thought it would be faster taking her to a hospital in Earth."

"But Earth doesn't have these magic things, or magic anyway. Why would they do it any faster?"

"We have better technology." Enrique replied. He walked over towards some of the Toads' medical equipment. "See, I don't even know what this thing is." He grabbed it and fiddled around with it, whatever it was. "And it doesn't seem of much help either. What matters is that Peach is somewhat fine for now, and at least she is awake."

"We thought it would have been too much of a catastrophe attempting to take her with you lot witnessing it, it's not something we would want to tell the people now." Tom added.

"And luckily it worked well." Rosalina cheered.

"For now, agh!" Peach moaned more, resisting the urge to scratch or pick the mark on her back.

"Are you sure those Toads are not going to talk about this?" Tom wondered. "Word spreads super quickly in this day and age."

"I better hope they don't, and it would look really bad on me if they did." She replied, deeply thinking on any short term changes she can implement.

"Well, you can't let people get away with it even if they work for you." Tom thought.

"You're right. With things like this going on it's hard to trust any citizen, the borders haven't been manned properly either since the trains sort of allow free movement." She worried. "Detaining is too simple nowadays too; it doesn't give any justice for the innocent." Implying she was innocent here, she wondered what she would do to those who committed crimes against the crown. "Is there a word to describe committing a crime against me? Or someone like me on Earth?" She asked those surrounding her.

"It's called treason, it's known to be one of the highest levels of severe crime, and back in the past committers would be punishable with death." Enrique replied.

"So you're saying you'll provide execution to those who wrong-do?" Tom asked. "That sounds ridiculous."

"No." Enrique replied. "...send them north, if people find about what happened here. They'll serve time protecting the lands of the south; we'll have the Red Martyrs train them. That way Peach would have to worry less about that." Peach seemed to like what Enrique was saying. "Even better we can have those who are currently locked up working on the mountain borders. We may have to speak to the council but they can decide leaders amongst themselves to lead these people into servicing the tunnels and the stations. You may also have to directly speak to the train operators to make checks on those stations just before or after the tunnels, to see if anybody is sneaking past." Rosalina moved towards the door of the infirmary and closed it, making a gesture implying it's better to talk about this without anybody hearing in.

"One thing I'd like to ask is – and this is to Peach mainly – how are we supposed to monitor people crossing the border north? Toads and Koopas and Goombas arrive every day in their hundreds in and out of the north how are we supposed to know if they are citizens of the south or not?"

"Each citizen has or should have proof of citizenship or proof of address on them when taking a train north; we can have that checked easily." She smiled and nodded back at Enrique. "I think having people work there would be a brilliant idea, since the Brigade and Patrol are much needed in defending the south from local threats.

"I guess that defeats my next question concerning radicalisation." Tom added.

"Radicalisation?" Peach looked confused.

"It's like brainwashing, but in this case it would be citizens here travelling north to be influenced by hostility. So when they come back they are far more likely to commit crimes here." Enrique added.

"The north should have pledged allegiance with us five years ago, but they still refused. We should enforce our borders so the people there will not find it easy to sneak in. If the innocent want in then they should give up their towns and distractions and hold proper citizenship here." Peach was soon eager to make that a new law for reinforcing the borders.

"It all seems like a distant dream, trying to make the north unify with us." Tom stated.

The mention of northern unification reminded Enrique of the times he was with Illias Fonavan, mentioning how the north was divided and not as big of a problem as people in the south ought it to be, but he was unsure on whether or not he should inform Peach about it.

"There's only one problem here that I would like to put across." Luigi took his turn to speak. "What if they say no? What if the locked up people refuse to work on the stations and would instead stay in the cells?"

"They can have their sentences reduced. Simple. If they can hold their positions until the threat is dealt with, they can return back home, or be paid to continue their services." Peach smiled. "Enrique, you and I will head straight to Aypyidaw after Koopa Cape! We will need to see Archbarn and Muji about this proposal and allow them to allocate leaders for each station."

"And what will we do?" Daisy asked Peach, boring her.

"I will need your eyes in the south; I will appoint you in charge of the castle while we are gone. Devise a plan on regulating the people perhaps. We must... talk about this in my quarters, ouch! It's stinging." The pain became worse for short periods every so often, mostly during times where Peach makes herself most comfortable. "Leave me, all of you. I'm tired." The bother of the pain changed her slightly. She did not fancy any company for the time being anymore now that she knows in her head what the cause of it is. Luigi looked at Peach and gave her a look of gratitude.

"I'm going to look for Mario probably at home." He said. "I am his brother after all." Before he was about to leave, he turned to Daisy one last time. "Training grounds for nine thirty." He still thought he was in the competition despite having to put up with the disturbed Mario. Hopefully he could drive throughout all of the upcoming races since he's been training a lot more often and wouldn't be distracted whilst driving.

"Great plan." Daisy gave Luigi a big kiss, wishing him off soon after. "...do you want to train with us tomorrow Tom? Rosalina? What about you?"

"I've got some things to do." Rosalina said with disappointment. "Maybe another day." Daisy then looked at Tom, hoping he would give a better response to her. She could only dream of that soothing response of a big 'yes, I'll come' from him, but she doubted it anyway.

"I've got to find the others, haven't seen them since that big dinner we had at Luke's penthouse." It was as she thought, he wouldn't come. Rosalina began walking out of the infirmary after Luigi left leaving the door open.

"All the best for now, Peach." Rosalina said her goodbyes and went off.

"Ok Daisy and Peach, see you soon." Tom left with Enrique just after Rosalina. Daisy then began to make her way off, staring at Peach who was lying on the bed looking like she was about to doze off.

"Stay, Daisy." Peach prevented her from leaving quietly and wished her back. Daisy closed the door, still inside and locking it soon after before walking over to the seat next to Peach. She watched her slouching on the bed; the duvet was dirty and creased having been used to carry her across to Earth. It had been the longest period where the two were wearing their biker outfits; Daisy was eager to either get back into her dress or a gown to get herself an early night in preparation for training tomorrow. Although they weren't first at the moment, they were still ahead of Bowser and Daisy intends to keep it that way. "I don't know if I should make the effort to go up to bed." She eventually spoke, still looking up to the ceiling rather blankly.

"You can do whatever you want." Daisy replied brightly, doing her best to keep Peach's mood positive. "If you think you could get some sleep here then so be it, I'll sit here and stay with you if that is what you want." Peach often made attempts to sit herself up straight but it seemed like she had no energy to do so anymore, even though she felt normal on her way back here.

"I feel like a cripple, I cannot run a kingdom like this. You'll have to drive for every race from now on until I'm better. The show must go on." She eventually turned her head to Daisy, who was undoing her zip slightly to give herself some space to move around in her biker outfit. "My parents would be so disappointed in me, toiling with magic." Daisy looked confused and discomforted at how Peach was talking. It's been a while since she last saw Peach in a proper happy mood.

"And everyone out there thought that it was all a lie, that there was no such thing as sorcery, or only something that had come from outer space, where Rosalina and Zane got theirs from." Daisy added on. "Apparently Duncan's got a thing for that magic stuff too, but he's not very proficient I have been told by Tom in the past."

"Tom really liked those boys, it's actually rather sad how I ran them off, scared them away from these lands. Now if the power in the north properly goes out it will definitely cause a war to happen. I bet some people up there know it was us who banished them too."

"We could always go to war."

Peach shook her head. "...Too busy for that, we'll frighten the people and Bowser would usurp me, I'm sure of it." Daisy didn't reply, she just sighed and sat in her chair with Peach, watching her groan and moan passively. "It feels like time is going way too slowly for my liking now. I should have made the races every day."

"It's better if it is like this. Everyone gets a rest day, it just happens to be you only who is suffering." Daisy mentioned. "I insist you train with us tomorrow, it will make you feel better. I promise." Peach looked back at her and smiled.

"Alright." She said, warming Daisy on the inside. "It should be fun."

"You will definitely like it, we'll ace Cape tomorrow too, I'm sure of it. We'll take the lead and show the people why we are the queens of the land!" Daisy was one to get really excited so quickly. It was one of the things Peach liked the most about her. She was always someone who used to always brighten up the mood in the darkest of times during their childhood. Despite being consistently captured by Bowser in the past, Peach hadn't felt this much stress and pain since the wars in her childhood years.

"Get some sleep Peach then, I will see you tomorrow." Peach wished her peace and held her by the arm with her right hand. "Nine thirty at the training grounds." She smiled at her.

"Nine thirty!" Daisy smiled happily; amazed at the fact Peach remembered what Luigi said stating the time of meet. "Do you want the door locked?" Daisy asked as she reached the door. "You'll need to get up and close it once I leave." Peach got up from her spot on the bed and walked over towards Daisy slowly.

"Yes, I need peaceful sleep." She reached out for the door handle and gave Daisy a big hug before closing the door on her and locking it. Hopefully she would understand Peach's pain and will accept informal goodbyes, for Peach turned around and rushed straight to the bed again. She tried to find a position that wouldn't cause pain in her back as well as being comfortable enough for her to attempt sleeping. What did annoy Peach however was the thought of trying to sleep making it more difficult for her to actually fall into deep sleep.

The sky was dark, but many lights were lit up in the city. Daisy walked through the corridors of the castle and made her way up stairs to her bedroom on the top floor: the same floor that had Peach's bedroom and her work quarters, now fully repaired after the previous damages. For security purposes, there was now a pass-code implemented on the door at the top of the stairs leading to the floor that only few knew, including Daisy herself. Just before she opened up the door to her bedroom she turned her eye towards down the corridor towards Peach's work quarters. The door was ajar, and she still had things on her mind to check out, so she closed her bedroom door and walked across the hallway into the work room. No activity was heard of so there was no worry of making too much sound.

The room looked a lot cleaner than usual now that the Toad workers have fully fixed the windows. The only thing to appear messy was the map table. Most of it had scrolls of maps scattered on all corners of the table, but there were still the same pages Daisy had hoped to see on this table: parts of the Mushroom Accords. A set of regulations that were to make the living standards of the southern kingdoms more safe and to further pursue the hunt for Bowser's old allies and other associates of evil, with intention to make the southern lands more peaceful. Although Peach discussed a lot of the accords with her, she assumed there would be some sections of it that would be hidden away from her, since she wasn't allowed to proof read the whole set before they were formally passed and established. There seemed to be a lot more pages than she could remember piled up as well. Daisy picked up all the sheets and sifted through them. Each new regulation was categorised and written in much larger text at the top of each page. This made it easier for Daisy to find out any new sections that were never discussed with her. The first new section she came across was the intent to purposely raise price levels, for purchasable goods as well as taxes, making the citizens less wealthy. This gave her the explanation as to why the prices for tickets to the races were very expensive as well, despite it being the most popular tournament so far. The second section she came across that she had not recalled seeing was the removal of conscription. Five years ago, Peach addressed to her citizens the idea of conscription; most citizens would be trained in the event hostility in the north was to get worse over the years in between. Daisy was confused as to why this became removed; perhaps it would be due to the threat of Bowser being minimal so now citizens would appear to live more freely. But she thought "why increase prices?" as well.

Daisy kept sifting through sections that she had already seen until she got to the last sheets of paper. There was one more section that she had not seen before, and the title of this one caught her eye quickly.

"Hey? What's this one?" Daisy said out loud as she picked the sheets up from the rest.

 **EOC: I'm almost running out of spare chapters to upload. This one took me too long (about 3 months) but I do intend to go faster because this one was rather difficult to do as well as me being busy a lot.**

 **See you soon.**


	22. Koopa Cape

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 21 – Koopa Cape

 **A/N: Results for the past four races can be found in the chapter 19 and kart and bike choice can be viewed in chapter 7. As said in the previous chapter I have ran out of spare chapters, so my plan is to hopefully complete one once a month. That would be around 250 each day but there are days where I can do well more than that, so hopefully I will stick to my word on the progress. Maybe I can be even faster – who knows.**

 **Since then I have updated my profile adding some more Lore, if you have any queries about this fic please DM me or leave a review if you want to know any background stuff.**

 **January 22, 2015 – 9:30AM**

 **Elhelm, Mushroom Kingdom**

"Are you sure it's here?" Toby asked his friend Luke whilst watching him search through the shopping aisles, looking at the names of all the food boxes within the court. "We've been looking around here in the same area for half an hour already."

The two humans got up extra early on this day because Luke had heard an advertisement for certain snacks and easy-to-make meals at a discount in one of the largest supermarkets in the Mushroom Kingdom, situated in the town of Elhelm, the Pianta-dominant seaside escape containing the well-known Peach Beach, not far from the Delfino Border. Toby rested against the shopping trolley containing several goods picked up from other aisles, whilst waiting for Luke to find the last few snacks that he had only bought few times before. He was still desperate to find those special well-tended Pianta vegetables on offer, vegetables that were only grown in secret reserves from the southern coast of the Delfino district.

"Wait there Toby." Luke eventually replied, being too focused on reading the tags of each food he came across on the shelves. "I'll ask someone where I can find them." He wandered off while leaving Toby to doze off, still very tired after waking up so early to drive out of Mushroom City to escape any traffic. He spotted a happy-looking Koopa worker who was piling up other vegetables on the shelves of the opposite aisle and went over to see if he knew.

"Excuse me mister... Manes, is it?" Luke awkwardly approached the Koopa, looking at his name tag as he turned around.

"Yes it is Manes, I'm glad someone can pronounce it correctly. Usually people say something like Manez and it can be a bit annoying sometimes... anyways, what can I help you with?" He went on for a bit but Luke's bright mindset went with it with a keen smile.

"Hi, the name's Luke in case you were wondering. I myself was wondering if you could help me find the yellow Marhad sprouts. I can't seem to find them anywhere." He asked, and soon received a disappointing look back from Manes.

"Unfortunately the rare sprouts have already been sold out by around 8:45 this morning. I can't believe the morning lot already run out that quickly." The response gave Luke a frown for his face. "However my friend Luke, I believe I could go round back and see if I could sell you some of the afternoon lot. Whereabouts do you live human Luke?" Manes asked him back, Luke's frown quickly disappeared when the Koopa discussed an alternative.

"Mushroom City, right in the centre." He replied.

Luke watched Manes finish off supplying the shelves with unbranded vegetables and hinted him to follow him out the back. He found himself inside a large warehouse-looking room where most of the products were stored. The room spanned several metres in height and tens of metres across. This room itself covered more than half the total area of the whole supermarket interior. The walls were bright grey and perfectly unstained, and boxes of products were piled up across the edges in an organised manner. Manes led Luke further in to the southeast corner of the room from the western entrance. As they walked Luke turned his head south to look out some of the windows, the morning was just like any other day in the Mushroom Kingdom summer, bright blue sky and a yellow sun coming from the south, shining bright light into the warehouse. However, Peach Beach was not looking as empty and as pristine as usual; Luke caught a glimpse of some people driving around in karts and bikes along the beachfront. There were several Toads and Piantas outside watching them go by but nowhere near as many as one would see at a race.

"Yellow Marhad sprouts, how many of them do you need?" Manes asked Luke, who was too busy staring out of the nearest window. "I'll serve you at the counter." The Koopa carried the sprouts towards Luke who was looking out of the window; both of them saw the several racers drive on the beach almost perfectly.

"It seems like some people are practicing." Luke pointed out, opening the windows slightly.

"Follow me." Manes told Luke, pointing upwards to the platforms above them. He took the stairs at the eastern edge of the warehouse and headed over to the windows above on the second floor of the warehouse. The space around them was more open and less full of foodstuffs. "Looks like the princess is racing! But I swear there wasn't one today?" He added.

"I don't believe that there is a race today. It's the 22nd of the month, and that's an even number. There aren't races on even number days." Manes stated, thinking he knew lots about the races and the whole event itself.

"But what about next month, there're 31 days in January." Luke questioned back, making Manes look like a fool.

"I'm only talking about this month." He quickly covered up his faulty knowledge. "Next month and the one after should be even. I'm not the most intelligent when it comes to calendar traditions. I'm not even sure who and when it became implemented here."

"Me neither." Luke turned his head back towards facing the window, looking out to see no more karts and bikes. They had stopped for the time being.

Manes followed Luke out of the warehouse and back to where Toby was dozing near their shopping trolley. Luke placed his secretly-found vegetables into the trolley and pushed it forward in the direction to the nearest counter, waking up Toby. Manes rushed over round the back of the counters and activated the rightmost counter, operating it for Luke and Toby temporarily.

"Total is sixteen coins rounded down, including the sprouts." Manes said to Luke after gathering up all the goods from the trolley. Toby behind them turned around and noticed the lack of shoppers inside the building. It was as if they all disappeared and headed out to see the people karting outside.

"We should really go and check that out." Toby said. "The beach does look a lot bigger than the game's one too." He said more quietly and directly to Luke.

"All those crowds though." Luke replied, showing doubt of being able to see whoever was racing. "Is there a rooftop?" He turned his head back to Manes who was behind the counter.

"I'd go and put all your shopping away in your car before checking it out, just to be safe."

 _OUTSIDE, ON THE BEACH..._

There were seven karts and bikes set up at the end of the western beach path, much smaller than the ones used in the main races. There were 3 mach bikes belonging to Peach, Daisy and Luigi, a Wild Wing belonging to Yoshi, a Bullet Bike for Toad, and two Concertos for Toadette and Toadbert. Peach was the one who stopped first at the bottom of the path, she didn't feel up for being met by several spectators by the finish line.

"I didn't know there were so many people in this town today, sorry Peach." Daisy apologised for something that was not her fault. A high-class royalty would not know citizen events such as Elhelm's mass sales.

"Something must have been on at the same time; we never tell the public the whereabouts of where we train." Luigi added.

"Don't worry, I can always be escorted back without seeing so many, if not then I'll just put on my happy face as always." She smiled after lying down effortlessly in the bright sand. "It would have been far quieter to practice in Koopa Cape but alas that place is miles away and beyond the mountains. I still have no idea how the management are going to cope with having live spectators travelling north to such a place. The trains will be so busy tomorrow."

"They'll need to up their security too if you ask me." Toadbert added. "We can't afford any hostile to set afoot in those stands."

"I'll speak to Toadant when I get back to the castle. It's his area of work. Toad you come with me too." She ordered.

"As you command my queen." Toad nodded.

"You know sometimes with weather like this I wish I could lie down here all day." Peach said to her friends by the shore.

"Maybe one day when these races are all over and when we have a winner and peace, you can." Daisy crawled over towards Peach staring down on her face, eyes closed. "You'll always be happy." She smiled and kissed her forehead.

There were very few clouds in the sky and the sun was shining typically for a nice morning like this from the southeast. The tide was low and quiet; nothing would be able to disturb the group at the bottom of the path. That was until a Koopa and two humans started marching down the slopes from the corner buildings and the market warehouse. They arrived discretely and without alerting any other Piantas or Toads in town who were watching the race at some point during the practice period. The human in the middle was of blond hair and similar look to that of Enrique. To his left was a shorter brown-haired human and to the right was an unfamiliar Koopa who appeared to be working at the market, given his work uniform outfit. As they got closer the Koopa kneeled down to Peach and the others whilst the humans stood up.

"Toby and Luke. I presume." Daisy greeted the two, getting up from her awkward position of being almost on top of Peach. "And you are?" She looked at the kneeling Koopa.

"Manes Cerces." The Koopa looked up at Daisy.

"You may stand; we are in no place of royalty at the moment." She smiled at him.

"Thank you princess." He said back.

"What are these three people doing on this sacred beach?" Luigi quickly asked them, and Daisy, since she seemed completely happy with their presence.

"Toby and I were here for the big sales at the grand market. We bought a lot of the finest foods these lands have to offer. I myself am a very keen consumer of what is tasty." Luke replied without hesitation. "And Manes here was our _man at the counter_ helping us get out of the crowds quickly. There are hundreds of people up there on those streets watching you; they enjoyed seeing you all go by."

"Not what we had wished for." Luigi added. "None of us actually knew about this special event."

"It's a citizen thing." Luke said back to him.

"So you would call yourself a citizen of the Mushroom Kingdom now, Earthman?"

"Luigi..." Daisy and Toadette begged him to lower his threatening look.

"Most of the time I would say this but as of a few weeks ago I had my Free Passage rights stripped away from me and I got hunted down by the Toad Brigade as if I was a criminal." Luke responded back to Luigi.

"Same with me, and I actually got caught. If not for Enrique I wouldn't know where I'd be now. Other than that I would say I'm a citizen too, I even watched the Mushroom Bridge race at the stands like any other spectator there." Toby added, only noticing now that Peach was lying in the sand looking like she wasn't paying much attention.

"You speak with such clarity and tone Luke, is the penthouse a permanent property of yours?" Daisy asked him, walking towards the three. Manes slowly backed away from her.

"Yes, I have had it for a while now. I have lived here long enough for my neighbours to recognise me as one of their own, despite being originally from the other side." Daisy looked back at Peach who was still lying in the sand.

"I have learned in the recent events you humans from Earth are just like Tom, very friendly and free. I shall see it that your group will get its rights back as it should be and no Brigade should harm you in any way deemed unnecessary." Daisy offered to shake Luke's and Toby's hands, in an act of kindness and well-treatment. She turned around to look at Peach shortly afterwards. She frowned.

"Could we get some time alone with these... explorers?" Peach asked the others who were sitting in the sand, talking amongst themselves and watching the people standing.

After a short few moments Toad, Yoshi, Toadette and Toadbert got up and walked up the path back to the centre of Elhelm and the starting line of Peach Beach, grabbing the attention of the people in town who were watching the practice.

"What is the real purpose you lot are here?" Peach lifted her head up and looked at the three, shaking her head getting rid of any sand stuck in her hair. She beckoned them over, making them tread in the sand.

"I have no real news to tell you, but I have heard news about you from the likes of Tom and Enrique as of last night. I hope you are feeling better, and that the weird wound on your back will heal." Luke spoke for the people behind him. "Were you here for training?"

"It's a bit obvious, isn't it?" Peach replied bluntly. "You may be a human but you're citizens like any others and this is a private disturbance, ever wondered why the others don't come onto the track when we have just been racing here? If you want the respect of citizenship you must live like one and not a free-moving man who thinks rules don't apply to them." Her complaint frightened Manes, making him back slightly.

"I'm sorry my Queen." He apologised. "I didn't know what was right at the time."

"This does not specifically apply to you, dear friend." Peach said back to him, standing up. "But you two." She pointed at Toby and Luke. "Leave us now, or it's to the north with you two." She sent the two off, but beckoned Manes to come back to the sand. "You speak nothing of this meet." She whispered to him. He quickly nodded and hurried along back to the path, following Luke and Toby up the slope back to the town.

"Earthmen cannot be trusted; they tell each other everything they get told." Luigi mentioned to Peach and Daisy. Daisy wished to disagree, but from what Luke brought up, perhaps it was better for her to stay away from them. Already she began to regret her gift of Free Passage back to them. However, she thought she could have Luke be more useful to her, having him work for her discretely.

"Who knows what they are up to when nobody is watching them." Peach added, making her think about the safety of her privacy at the same time.

 _LATER THAT DAY, IN THE EVENING..._

Peach and Daisy arrived back at her castle appearing to look as fine as normal. They had both gotten out of their biker outfits and back in to their everyday dresses. They were accompanied by Toad, who journeyed back from Elhelm with them. Peach headed over to the management sector of her castle, where she had let many Toads and Koopas work together to form the group that coordinates the races' setup and venues for the people who paid for tickets to watch it live and at the track. She was worried about the safety of her people having Koopa Cape as a valid race. Since it is situated far in the north along the eastern coast just north of Urscan, it made her worry about how the viewers were going to get there in time for the race starting at midday tomorrow. The trains were going to be packed since they are the only fast transport that goes through the mountains and into Résethal. What concerned Peach more was how everyone participating would be able to get there without any delays due to all the spectators.

As she entered the room she was met with groups of Toads working at desks, all led by Toadant: the head co-ordinator whom she met with before at Yoshi Valley. The Toads noticed the three and got up from their seats, kneeling down to Peach at her arrival.

"My Queen." Toadant, working at the front desk, greeted Peach and the others. "What can I help you with?"

"You can go back to working." She ordered the Toads and Koopas who were by the desks. Peach headed forward with Daisy and Toad behind her, arriving at Toadant's main desk. His table was filled with plans of stand designs and pages filled with notes hard for Peach to read upside down.

"I need a briefing on the security and transport for Koopa Cape, including details on citizen arrival and Brigade and Patrol security." She asked, standing patiently at the front desk.

Toadant took all of the important sheets from the desk and piled them all up in his arms. "Follow me." He insisted, leading the three out of the main room and into a more secluded, quiet environment.

Toadant entered a small room within the bottom floor of the castle and turned the lights on. In the centre was an empty flat table where he could put all his sheets down that he had collected from the previous room. Peach and Daisy surrounded the table and had a look at some of the images hand-drawn by the Toads, showing stands and layouts of some of the venue's entry.

"Since this is in Résethal our main achievement was to double the Brigade monitoring the stations as well as the race area itself. We accounted for potential hostile activity so we will be checking the pockets of all those who are entering the venue with tickets. Anybody showing up to the venue with smuggled weapons or bombs or anything considered Hostile will be arrested and taken south or to Aypyidaw, whoever needs them more, us or the Red Martyrs. It was a great plan thought of by our Toadheim who's currently working in the other room over there." Toadant looked over all of the papers on the table, showing Peach the important ones about the security at the train stations and at the venue.

"Bring him in." Peach asked. Toadant pressed a button on the wall of the room alerting a speaker inside the main room.

"Toadheim please come in to room 3." Toadant announced through the speaker, and in a few seconds the slim Toad arrived, bowing to Peach and Daisy.

"Tell me about this idea of yours." She demanded from Toadheim. "...about the Red Martyrs."

"Well I was thinking..." Toadheim began. "If any of the council want to take a Hostile in to see anything they possess it may be deemed useful for them and it may help them defend against whatever threat there may be coming from them." Peach nodded with gratitude and turned her head back to Toadant.

"Something I value when it comes to these races will be the safety of my people not only during the event but on the journeys to and from, what is the best way for them to arrive and leave?" She asked Toadant, presenting a small map drawn out on some of the sheets of paper.

"Due to how the trains are laid out in the north we will be requesting for extra carriages on each train and for more trains to be ran from district capitals to Castelia and then Castelia to Urscan. We will also be asking for reduced train services to northern towns during the morning and early afternoon of tomorrow, hopefully reducing the level of possible threat. There will be advertisements of directions on which trains to travel to for citizens with tickets and once they arrive at Urscan there will be safe paths leading to the Cape. There will be security checks at Urscan and Castelia. I have mentioned before what happens there." He finished. Peach and Daisy nodded back at Toadant, still looking at the sheets of paper, showing understanding of the conditions of tomorrow's venue. "Is there anything else I could help you with?" Toadant asked the three once more.

"Just make sure everyone gets there on time. We've had perfect attendance so far and it's best not to spoil it now. Out of the races mentioned so far this is the only one that will require this much effort put in to security and transport." Peach gave a firm nod to Toad indicating she was done here. Her majesty thanked Toadant and Toadheim for their helpful support for the venue and led Daisy and Toad out of the management rooms.

"It seems a lot like how it used to be but on such a grand level of effort." Toad mentioned to Peach and Daisy.

"They are all getting paid a lot for their work here, and I do respect it a lot." Peach said back to Toad. "Now as for me I am going to get a lot of rest, just like yesterday's sleep, clear of any worry. I don't suggest you do the same but then again who doesn't like a nice sleep before a grand race." She smiled at Toad and began dancing her way towards the grand stairs up her castle floors. Daisy rushed behind her, following up as well.

"Best of luck tomorrow." Toad called out before heading away from the two.

 **January 23, 2015 – 10:15AM**

 **Urscan, East Résethal**

At the uttermost eastern point of Urscan lied the chalk cliffs south of the cape overlooking the sea and the street containing the secluded home of the Jautjas: Koopol's family. Unclear as to whether or not they were hostile, each one of them misses Koopol deeply and have not seen him for years since began living his young adult years in the southern kingdoms with his friends. Well out of the way of most activity in the town, Enrique stood a few metres from the cliff edge, overlooking the newly revamped look of the Cape, heavily influenced by southern media. As he stood there silently he watched the queues of crowds of spectators waiting in line to present their tickets and go through security just to get to their designated seat among all of the stands and wait at least another hour until the race actually begins. There were railings and fences implemented within the town of Urscan, indicating most citizens where to go in order to get to the cape, meaning that it would be very unlikely for anybody to be diverted on the path and end up stumbling upon Enrique and alerting everyone else that he is here... except for one Koopa, but this one didn't alert everyone nearby that he is here.

"You're acting like you know this place too well, as if you're picturing some sort of different vision of it in your head." The Koopa alerted his presence by speaking to Enrique. He turned around, recognising the familiar voice; it was Nikola. "It's funny, I could have been sneakier and could have charged at you, pushing you off of the cliff, and like that you would have died. But alas, I am a nice Koopa."

"More like a weak Koopa." Enrique said back with a grin. "You wouldn't push me even half the distance to the edge."

"Like the north you do not know much about me." Nikola said with a lecturing tone. "Nobody from the south really knows about anybody who truly lives here. It's like how they separate the kids from the real men." He pulled out a small leaflet from his shell and presented it to Enrique, it was a ticket to the Koopa Cape Race Venue.

"How did you get that?" Enrique asked Nikola. He smiled back and approached the human slowly.

"Just like any other citizen of the south, I bought it for myself." He replied.

"And does your friend Verida have a ticket like that one too? Or Johan?"

"Neither Verida nor Johan have a ticket, only me." He waved the ticket in the air, gasping at its pristine look. "Johan said he would rather sleep on the grass than watch anything ran by the south. Verida says she hates everyone so much she couldn't bear to watch anyone. She really dislikes you, you know."

"I wouldn't question it." Enrique agreed monotonously.

"So what do you see Enrique?" Nikola asked him, standing by his side and looking down on the cape as well. "What does it look like to you?" This is a side of Nikola Enrique didn't know existed, it made him unsure as to whether his weird tone was at all staged.

"I see a view of the cape without any of its southern involvement, except for the track design from 2008. It was the first time I ever saw the twins, but that was in 2010, when I first arrived here."

"Earthmen like you aren't really welcome anywhere in these lands, including the south, but now it seems like a norm to treat you lot just like citizens of the south."

"And are you the only 'hostile of the north' going to see this event today?" He asked Nikola, making him move forward and look at the cape more closely. Most of his view of the track was blocked by the built-up stands and platforms that the spectators could get to.

"I don't know anyone of my kind who also has a ticket, but you have to remember that this town has a lot of us in it, and you southerners don't even know it." Enrique turned away from the cape and pointed at the house of the Jautjas, on the outside it looked completely abandoned but perhaps there were still people who lived inside.

"The people living in there, are they hostile?" He asked Nikola another question. "I've heard a lot about the son of the Koopa who is in charge of the family that lives here."

"The Jautjas? Absolutely not." Nikola replied. He leaned in a bit closer to Enrique's ear "I'm going to tell you a little secret, since I can tell from your personality that you're not one to snitch to the crown." Enrique lowered his body slightly so he could listen in to Nikola. "Hostiles have their own borders. There is no Hostile group that has Urscan in its area, but we are free to move wherever we want." He remembered something Illias once told him before during one of the times he was here before.

"Hey, Enrique! Who's your friend?" The voice of Tom came from behind the two; they turned around and notice him walk forward.

"Is this the other Earthman?" Nikola whispered in Enrique's ear, trying to do it unnoticed, but Tom still saw him whisper.

"He's a friend of a friend." Enrique replied to Tom. "Just happened to be in town before the race, he's even got a ticket to watch us." Nikola smiled at Tom, looking rather shy.

"What's his name?" Tom asked, looking at the Koopa.

"Nikola." Nikola finally spoke out to him.

"Well you two can talk later, Enrique and I have to get to the track now and prepare for the race." Tom turned around and began walking back towards the main part of the town where all the citizens were queuing up to get to the Cape. Enrique and Nikola soon followed, talking to eachother quietly a few metres behind Tom. As they travelled down the northern road they walked past an alley also leading to the cliffs. Enrique noticed something very strange at the end of the alley. A Koopa corpse, dirtied by the ground it was resting on. He stopped moving and tried to get a closer look at it, it appeared to be that very same drunk he strangled a few nights ago, and that the disposers only left him here. Enrique couldn't guarantee if what Dirrug said was true about whether he was hostile or not, so he asked Nikola.

"Him, is he one of yours?" Nikola approached the corpse, letting Tom walk on ahead.

"No." He replied. The two turned around slowly and headed back to catch up with Tom...

 **11:45PM**

Stands were placed everywhere. There were stands rising from the water near the first straight, stands built above the rock faces by the running river flow, and stands built up at the top of the last bend's waterfall. The woods were filled with fencing and entranceways where all of the spectators lined up, and the participants' tent was built up around the edge just before the track's starting line. The managers had erected a staircase allowing the participants to safely walk down to the starting line where their vehicles were laid out. Where most of the stands were placed there would always be a giant scoreboard showing the line-up of all the racers and their current scores. It now displayed them to show all of the viewers how the race would start.

 **POSITIONS:**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu**

 **Rosalina and Pauline**

 **Peach and Daisy**

 **King Boo and Petey**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong**

 **Tom and Enrique**

 **Mario and Luigi**

 **Toad and Toadette**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa**

 **Wario and Waluigi**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong**

 **Yoshi and Birdo**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth**

 **SCOREBOARD:**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 63**

 **Peach and Daisy: 61**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 59**

 **King Boo and Petey: 52**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 43**

 **Mario and Luigi: 36**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 36**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 33**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 32**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 28**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 27**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 26**

 **Tom and Enrique: 22**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 21**

 **Toad and Toadette: 17**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 16**

MC Ballyhoo was hovering around the stands and entertaining the fans. Before the screens showed the scoreboard and positions it had previously shown each tag-team's individual performances and where each of them excelled at, showing their average points per race, best track, worst track, and footage of them all performing incredible feats.

After most participants had made their way to the starting line, Ballyhoo arrived back to the tent, where he saw Peach. She was looking far more confident and prepared for this race unlike Maple Treeway, but she insisted that Daisy would race this one as well, just in case her back would play any tricks on her. Peach turned around and greeted Ballyhoo, but he looked very anxious after hovering around and entertaining the crowd.

"The people out there don't seem as happy as usual." Ballyhoo complained to Peach. "There are far more Koopas there than Toads too, what could be the meaning of this?" Peach looked out of one of the doorways of the tent and examined the look of one of the stands. The Koopas in the stands outnumber Toads and Piantas three to one.

"This isn't the typical crowd." Peach replied. "There are a lot of northerners who are here too; oddly enough they managed to pay for a ticket to see something that isn't represented in their lands. Maybe they like us secretly." She zipped up her biker top fully and started making her way out of the tent. "It isn't very safe this far north, remember to be careful Ballyhoo." She warned him before leaving the tent.

It was almost noon, and Peach had just arrived to the starting line. For the second time she made her way to the second row of vehicles, starting in fifth. Daisy was leaning against their Mach Bike, ready to begin.

"Peach." King Boo whispered from the Prowler just behind them. "You disappeared two days ago; we were supposed to have met."

"I'll stay with you after this one, I promise." She replied back to him, but only got a headshake back.

"I haven't seen Zane since that race. It's too late now." King Boo frowned as he floated to the back of the Prowler, grabbing on to the back whilst Petey slithered in to the front seat comfortably. Peach looked to the bike behind them, but was only met by that cringe-worthy smile of Funky's. His giant teeth disgusted her as much as his racing performance. Behind him was the last kart on their row, containing a snoozed Enrique and a Tom resting against the back of their modified Standard Kart.

The starting line began to light up, making an echoing noise, waking up Enrique and alerting the rest that the race was about to begin.

"Remember what I told you." Rosalina whispered to Pauline from the row in front of Peach and Daisy. Peach turned her head straight and gripped on to the bike's back frame. Most of her view of the first item boxes was blocked by the shells of Bowser and his son. It was embarrassing for her to let them get first in the previous race. Within a few seconds the holographic Lakitu appeared at the starting line lifting up its traffic light.

Red light, red light, amber light, green light.

Most of the racers sped off the starting line. Bowser's Flame Flyer however did not get the fastest start. This was deliberate however as their vehicle collided with Peach and Daisy's Mach Bike, making them get hit aside to the right and slowed down drastically. Their vehicle was almost on the edge of the track, about to fall off. Daisy and Peach watched all of the other racers drive swiftly ahead of them.

"Bitch!" Daisy yelled from the front seat, attempting to get a starting mini-turbo on the edge to accelerate much quicker. As they made their way to the first set of item boxes they noticed Rosalina and Pauline braking as well, also attempting a starting mini-turbo once the item boxes had respawned. Everybody had taken the first wave of boxes, so presumably they were just waiting for a good item. Peach and Daisy drove past and picked up an item box just before Rosalina and Pauline did, they all tried to catch up as quickly as possible without using their good items hoping to use it in a more effective way.

"Golden." Peach said to Daisy. "Cut here." She pointed in front of them to the first green shortcut. Peach activated it and Daisy drove them straight across the grass and quickly around the bend, avoiding the ramp and still on the inside grass. They had lost sight of Rosalina and Pauline, and began to start overtaking some people at the back of the main group. Unfortunately they saw no sign of Bowser, the Hammer Bros, and a few other racers in front. As their golden mushroom ended they managed to chain another item box at the ramp next to the rock arch before the small river drop: triple greens.

"Defensive." Peach signalled, indicating she wasn't going to throw any of them and instead keep them for defence when trying to catch up to the top spots. As they turned to go down the waterfall they saw several bananas placed at the bottom and a blue shell went travelling straight above their heads, heading for first. Ahead of them they saw the Hammer Bros and Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, quickly turning around the first pipe bend on the left and out of their sight. Daisy became more cautious after turning that same bend, aiming not to get zapped by the spinning electric Koopa zappers. Peach could see through the water the sight of an exploding blue shell towards the end of the pipe. She peered into the distance to see a flying Wario Bike, being overtaken by Bowser and others. Daisy, currently in 6th place, quickly avoided the first Koopa zapper and drove along the running water for extra speed, inward drifting around the rightward bend as efficiently as possible. A second later, most of the racers were shocked, some suffering more than others. Peach and Daisy lost the grip of the green shells and almost got hit by one that was thrown out in front of them. Shortly after the two were overtaken by a bullet bill, being used by Rosalina and Pauline more effectively than the use of their golden mushroom at the start. They came out of it regular sized and began overtaking more and more people.

"That was early." Daisy pointed out with her temporary high-pitched, squeaky voice. They picked up another item box just before the exit out of the pipe and they overtook Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong as they landed, as they were severely impacted by the shock, falling down the last waterfall in attempt to take the short cut using a mushroom.

Peach and Daisy finished the first lap currently in sixth place, they could see the Hammer Bros and Wario and Waluigi in front of them but not Bowser, Rosalina or the third pair ahead of them. They were unsure who it would be either. Only a minute into the race and the stretch between first and last was greater than this point in any other race so far. It's going to be really difficult for Peach and Daisy to catch up on a race track like this, very little luck can be given to them in a middle spot. Peach had a bob-omb in her grasp from the previous item boxes and placed it to drag behind the bike immediately before they drove past the first set of boxes in lap 2. She looked at Donkey Kong approaching behind them, laying out triple red shells in 7th. Peach gulped as Daisy tricked across the ramp. Peach received a mega mushroom for her next item, looking more confident as they drove around the curve, watching DK lurk up behind them. Peach let go of the bob-omb but unfortunately did not hit the Kongs, they swerved around the explosion, avoiding it completely. Diddy Kong threw the first red shell as they turned around the half-pipe bend, taking lots of time before getting close to Peach and Daisy. Peach activated the mega mushroom and negated the effect of the first red shell.

"Haha!" Peach laughed deeply as they drove past one of the moving item boxes in the river. At the same time a POW block appeared in front of their vision, being completely useless to them due to their large size. She laughed even more and even Daisy giggled when they avoided it. Peach looked up at one of the stands and waved at one with lots of Toads in it. They cheered back but were completely silent to her since the track was made soundproof to the outside for the racers. They picked up triple bananas and became in fourth place as their mega mushroom expired. Just before they reached the beginning of the waterfall before the pipe they couldn't see anyone at the bottom, indicating they were all far ahead. As they entered the pipe they saw another blue shell race past them, heading for first, whoever it would be they did not know.

Further back were Mario and Luigi, who were having a difficult time trying to reach a single digit position. All they were able to pick up in 13th were mushrooms, since it appeared many other racers were conserving their better items in positions around them. Another problem raised between the two was their disagreement on who should drive. Every time Luigi would miscalculate a mini-turbo timing Mario would make an insult to him and often Mario would use an item without Luigi expecting it to be used, making them drive rather irregularly. The two began to be overtaken by the bills of Toadbert of Toadsworth and the stars of Shy Guy and Lakitu. The only people behind them now were Tom and Enrique, who seemed quite a distance behind, still not travelling down the waterfall before the Pipeway for the second time. By the time those two finally went down that waterfall, first place had already picked up the first set of item boxes in lap 3. The gap between first and last was almost half a lap at this point. This continued on for another two laps until the fifth and final one where the gap became almost two thirds of a lap.

As Peach and Daisy passed the starting line to get on to the final lap they were still in fourth place. They had not been overtaken by anybody nor did they overtake anybody. The gaps widened so much that Daisy could only just about see Rosalina ahead of them in third and Peach could not distinguish who was all the way behind them in fifth. They had undergone a few bloopers and two more shocks but they only changed positions further down the rankings. They had also never seen who was in first place, so it made it highly unlikely for them to ever catch up to first place. This began to worry both Peach and Daisy.

"Come on, let's go!" The two tricked off of the first ramp, collecting one mushroom in fourth. Daisy drifted along the first curve and used the mushroom along the first green, saving as much time as they possibly could. Daisy also made another superb turn around the big bend before the flowing river, gaining some time. Now Peach and Daisy could see Bowser and Rosalina in second and third. They picked up another moving item box along the river and acquired a red shell.

"Throw it! We need to overtake them!" Daisy insisted, but Peach disagreed.

"No, we must protect ourselves, if we get hit by one we could end up falling back more than what we could hope for." Peach placed the shell at the back of the bike, locked in place for protection. By now Peach could only assume that the racers in first were either King Boo and Petey or Funky Kong and Cranky Kong, but they appeared to be so far ahead that it was still uncertain who it would be. Peach and Daisy were both hoping for a blue shell to start flying around the area, hoping they could get some advantage on whoever would get hit, but they had no luck whatsoever. As Peach and Daisy drove by another item box just before the waterfall they heard the greedy sounds of Wario and Waluigi's laughter from behind them, they caught up and were not far behind them. However, they did not appear to be a threat since Peach noticed they drove off-road, indicating they had no harmful item.

They picked up triple bananas yet again, and as they entered the pipe they saw two green shells being launched backwards by third place. Daisy quickly avoided them as they drifted round the first pipe bend. Peach watched as Wario and Waluigi landed in the pipe, being hit immediately by one of the green shells. They fell behind and the gap between the two widened to the point where some pair overtook them. At this rate first place had already crossed the finish line and it looked hopeless for Peach and Daisy to gain any spots. Peach threw the red shell forward and started throwing the bananas in front of them as they passed the last set of item boxes, sending the bananas out of the pipe and on to the last part of the track, hoping to hit Rosalina and Pauline, one of the bananas hit them, but it wasn't enough to slow them down severely. The red shell was also avoided by Pauline's green shell she had for protection. Peach and Daisy used their last item, a single mushroom for the shortcut but that only placed them half a second behind Rosalina and Pauline when they crossed the finish line.

Fourth place.

It wasn't good enough in Peach's eyes but they couldn't do much about it, Rosalina, Bowser, and whoever won the race drove exceptionally well to maintain a breakaway and to not be affected as much by blue shells and lightning shocks. Daisy applied the brakes and stopped the bike away from Bowser and his son. They looked ahead and noticed the winners to be none other than the course selector and his partner: the Koopa Troopas. Attached to propellers was one of the screens floating against the rocky cliff face near the start. Daisy noticed it was still pending as most of the racers had not finished. Peach looked back at the starting line watching others finish. She saw the likes of Waluigi, Donkey Kong, Dry Bones and many more cross the line. As they all finished the screen updated and showed the scores of the race.

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: +20**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: +17**

 **Rosalina and Pauline: +15**

 **Peach and Daisy: +13**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: +12**

 **King Boo and Petey: +11**

 **Wario and Waluigi: +10**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: +9**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: +8**

 **Toad and Toadette: +7**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: +6**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: +5**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: +4**

 **Mario and Luigi: +3**

 **Tom and Enrique: +2**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: +1**

The total scores became updated and were displayed alongside the individual race scores.

 **Rosalina and Pauline: 78**

 **Bowser and Bowser Jr: 76**

 **Peach and Daisy: 74**

 **King Boo and Petey: 63**

 **Funky Kong and Cranky Kong: 55**

 **Dry Bones and Kamek: 42**

 **Wario and Waluigi: 42**

 **Hammer Bro and Fire Bro: 41**

 **Mario and Luigi: 39**

 **Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong: 37**

 **Koopa Troopa and Paratroopa: 36**

 **Shy Guy and Lakitu: 31**

 **Yoshi and Birdo: 27**

 **Toadbert and Toadsworth: 26**

 **Toad and Toadette: 24**

 **Tom and Enrique: 24**

Peach and Daisy were now four points behind first, and now behind Bowser and Bowser Jr. This frustrated Peach when looking at the scores but she kept a smile for the crowd, showing them that she will never give up. Hopefully Toad's Factory will help sort out the problem being behind her arch-nemesis...

 **EOC: Thankfully this chapter took a lot less time to write than the previous one, this one stayed in the natural environment of Muhu Delfethal which may have helped. By the time this chapter was finished I had already uploaded the previous chapter to , but only a couple days ago. I will aim to finish the next chapter before I upload this one, to stay on track of things.**

 **See you then!**


	23. Diplomacy

Fighting in the Streets

Chapter 22 – Diplomacy

 **A/N: Results of the total 5 races so far are in the previous chapter. Individual results are found in chapters 11, 13, 16, 19 and 21 respectively, this does not include the Prologue Extract in between chapters 19 and 20.**

 **Remember there is a poll in my profile – if you're into the racing aspect or polls in general give it a vote if you haven't already.**

 **January 23, 2015 – 12:30PM**

 **Koopa Cape, East Résethal**

Peach had spent a lot of time after the racers finished by waving back at all the stands, looking at all the spectators cheer her on despite only finishing fourth. Afterwards, she returned up the staircase away from sight of the viewers, being stopped by Bowser halfway up to the participants' tent. She could already tell he did not have a satisfying look on his face.

"Looks like I am ahead of you now, princess Toadstool." Bowser grinned, blocking the final staircase up to the top of the cliff.

"Move aside Bowser." Peach replied calmly. "Strike me and it will be on the heads of all of your children." Bowser looked back at her more calmly and began to sidestep up the stairs. He turned around quickly and arrived back in the tent as if no bit of the encounter happened. As Peach got up the top of the stairs she noticed how quickly Bowser walked all the way inside and was already talking to his son, Kamek and the Hammer Bros about the race and how he was in the lead. He then congratulated the Koopa Troopas on being able to keep such a great lead for most of the race and more importantly finishing ahead of Peach and Daisy.

"You still did well, don't be ashamed." Tom's voice came from the left side of the tent's entrance. Peach looked at him standing idly outside the tent, surprised that he wasn't with Enrique or Rosalina after the race.

"Have you seen Enrique?" Peach asked him, intending to go with him to Aypyidaw immediately after this race.

"He's not inside the tent, but I know for sure Daisy and Rosa are, why don't you speak to them?" Tom suggested as he stood patiently outside for a reason unknown to her.

Peach headed forth past Tom and entered the tent, Bowser and the other Koopas Peach despised had already seemed to have vanished from the tent exiting from the other entrance, towards the public. In the tent were several managers and some remaining participants, including the ones Tom listed: Rosalina and Daisy, but not Enrique.

"I hope you're ok." Daisy tried to speak kindly to Peach after not getting much out of her when the race immediately finished. Peach had a tendency to say almost nothing to her whenever a race would finish, even the ones where they had finished either first or second. "It's still very early and there's no significant lead." Daisy tried to talk about the positives still.

"It's alright." Peach replied. "And you're right, there's nothing to worry about in relation to the races for now. Plus, Bowser's not even first; we've got you two in the lead just about."

"But it seems like it's neck and neck between our pairs and him." Pauline mentioned. "It's going to be spectacular."

"Where's Mario?" Peach asked Luigi who was standing slightly outside their circle of conversation.

"He's run off again as like last time. It's not easy playing with him anymore. He uses items without telling me and sometimes he would deliberately use some just to harm us." Luigi replied to Peach, stepping forward back into the circle.

"I guess I really should speak to him alone again, maybe I can find a way to mak-."

" _P_ _ËR LIRI!"_

A shout was heard from outside followed by the screams of innocent people. The Toad Managers rushed over to push hurdle around the participants in fear of what was shouted outside. Luigi lunged forward towards the back entrance of the tent where Peach had came from thinking there was some sort of explosion. The girls in the tent panicked and crouched, concerned by the other sounds they could hear outside. They heard the sounds of a Koopa who appeared to be restrained to the floor. No explosion occurred.

"What was that?" Pauline cried, beginning to shiver. Peach got up from next to her and started heading to the other exit to the tent, soon followed behind by Tom who came from the entrance closest to the Cape staircase. Peach went outside to the bright sunlight and saw the grass filled with Koopas, Toads and even Enrique keeping another Koopa on the ground. They put his arms around his dark shell and kept him from moving any part of his body. His face was buried in the clean grass but the mud dirtied his face.

"What is this?" Peach yelled as she got out of the tent, looking directly in front of her where the Koopa – who appeared to be a Hostile – was detained.

"A Hostile Koopa, threatening to severely harm hundreds of people including everyone still in the participants' tent. Luckily we got to him first, I know what those words mean and it's usually what one would say before they blow themselves up." Enrique, standing directly behind the detained Koopa mentioned. He stood next to another Koopa and then the rest of the security surrounded the Koopa. Peach approached the detained Koopa, who was turned around to lie on his back and look at her staring down upon him. The Koopa's mouth was blocked with a tied cloth, but his eyes were focusing on the Koopa next to Enrique on his left. He was shaking his head as well, as if he was trying to frame the other Koopa. Some of the Toads began to turn their heads and look at the Koopa in suspicion. "What should we do?" Enrique asked, turning his head last.

"I'm not a hostile." The Koopa to the left of Enrique pleaded. "I have nothing; I was just here to watch a great race." Although Enrique knew that same Koopa persuading Peach and the security was Nikola, he pretended to agree with him for the sake of getting more information about actual hostiles in the north.

"He isn't, I can confirm." Enrique added.

"He's the same guy we met before we came here right?" Tom stated, unknowingly helping Nikola stay on the good side.

"Yes."

Peach stared closer at the Koopa, thinking of what to do with him. She stood up again and looked around seeing the grass area blocked off by security and with most spectators being forced out of the venue.

"We'll take him with us to Aypyidaw." Peach commanded. "I want Luigi and the other girls safely taken south, same goes to the Toad participants." She said to the managers and security. They began clearing the area and cuffing the Koopa. "Search the Hostile." The Toads around the Koopa began holding him down and looking for anything else he was carrying. Enrique searched his shell-top and found a wallet with identification issued only a few weeks ago.

"Menskem Koopa." Enrique let the security and others around him know the Koopas name.

"Troopa's bloodline." Tom pointed out.

"And Bethel's." Enrique added.

The security restrained him again after searching him and took him captive into one of the security vans. Enrique, Tom and the two other Koopas that were holding the Hostile down followed Peach into a separate, larger van, en route to Aypyidaw from Urscan.

"Clean up boys." Peach ordered the security, disassembling the tent after everyone still inside had left it. Daisy quickly rushed over to Peach just before the van was shut by the management, attempting to get into the van as well and follow Peach, Enrique and the other Koopas back to Aypyidaw.

"Let me come with you." Daisy begged, just outside the van's right door slider.

"This is dangerous; I need you safe down south." Peach replied. "Go with Luigi, Tom and the others down south. I will get back to you." Daisy frowned and looked down, slowly standing away from the door as it began to close. "I need you alive more than anything else." Peach said calmly before moving back into the van and sitting next to Enrique.

The door closed, the back doors of the van were closed as well, trapping Menskem in a small area caged off from the other passengers in the middle. Peach and Enrique sat nearer towards the front, separated by another caged wall where the management were sitting, and near the back of the van was Nikola and the other Koopa, presumably not Hostile. Menskem kept shaking his shackles against the cage, irritating Nikola and the other Koopa.

"Calm yourself." The other Koopa told Menskem, who didn't seem to stop. He wasn't talking however, since his mouth was blocked by the tied cloth around his head.

"I'm sorry if he irritates you..." Peach apologised. "...What is your name?" She then asked, not yet knowing.

"Revan." The Koopa replied. "I came all the way from Mushroomheath on the trains."

"That's good to hear." Peach smiled back at him, and then turned towards the Koopa she had not yet got the name of. "And you?"

"The name's Nikola." Nikola responded confidently. "From a small town called Nutusa."

"Ah Nutusa?" Peach said back brightly. "I hear the management are doing their best to make the trains operable there once again. I hope it gets fixed quickly so it saves you hassle if you're ever trying to go north or south." She smiled back at him, even though he didn't actually know what she was on about.

"Thank you, tell them." He replied unknowingly. Menskem started hitting the cage wall with his shackles once more.

"Have either of you two been to Aypyidaw before? Aside all of the training areas it's quite a grand city to look at." Peach asked them again, trying to keep conversation up for the journey whilst receiving no help from Enrique. All he was doing was either staring out of the van's window or looking back at Nikola.

"Never been before." Revan replied. "In fact, this is the first time I've been this far north in over five years."

"I've been to Aypyidaw once or twice." Nikola added. "And mostly just to visit actually." He smiled back at Peach, trying to gain her trust without her knowing who he really was.

Most of the conversation on the journey back was just back and forth talk between Peach and Revan either about the races or how her rule is going down south. The journey from Urscan to Aypyidaw was going to be a few hours by van, hopefully less since most roads in Résethal were empty or quiet.

 **3:45PM**

 **Aypyidaw, Southwest Résethal**

As usual, the city was filled with busy workers and trainees. Creatures of all types in red clothing were patrolling the areas within the tall walls of the grand centre of the town where the Red Martyrs' headquarters were situated. The van, accompanied by a few more management vehicles came in to the city from the east, firstly through a small residential area within the city's walls. They stopped just outside the higher walls of the city before going in to the main courtyard. Peach, Enrique and the two other Koopas got out of the van and waited for the Toad managers' security to unlock the back door and take Menskem out for presentation further into the city. Many of the management vehicles began heading south towards the great tunnel of Aypyidaw near to the train station, heading south of the mountains and then eastwards back to the Mushroom Kingdom. Peach and Revan watched the Toad security take Menskem out of the van, his hands were cuffed together still and he was unable to speak. At the same time, Enrique stood closer to the courtyard entrance with Nikola and watched a Pianta dressed in dark red clothing approach them.

"Greetings Enrique, what do you come for on this occasion?" Enrique pointed towards Peach and the cuffed Hostile. The Pianta looked over and watched the Hostile stand up straight whilst being hit by some of the Toad security guards.

"We've got a Hostile, in for questioning." He replied. "We also have a proposal Peach wants to talk to Archbarn and Muji about." The Pianta watched the security take Menskem over to him. Peach stood by next to Enrique and Revan and bowed slightly to the Pianta.

"Queen of the south." The Pianta greeted Peach. "You can all follow me into the headquarters, and I will have it that you see the Appointed Seven as quickly as possible. This is an important case." The Pianta led in the group and the few security members into the main building inside the central courtyard, closing the large doors behind them and heading quickly through the main hall. The interior design of Aypyidaw looked a little bit different compared to the last time Peach or Enrique set foot in the building. The main hall was much more open and with far less chairs. The council's first table was a lot longer and thinner with only seven seats on the opposite side of the table as to where the group stood whilst the Pianta led them in.

"Wait a minute here please." The Pianta walked behind the table and out through a corridor to the left of the hall.

"This seems new." Enrique said quietly to Peach, waiting patiently to see a group of mixed creatures all wearing red show up to the room from the left. Aside from the red each one was wearing a golden badge so signify their high status within the council. This included both Archbarn and Muji; the appointed seven are considered the seven leaders of the Red Martyr Council. From the left this consisted of Kroop, an old Koopa formerly the mayor of the town of Petalburg, in north Wuhu, Lumpy, the green Ratooey from Rogueport, west Delfino, Eoréc, a very well-known member and what would be third-in-command of the council, Archbarn, the considered leader above all who sits in the middle chair, Muji, the second-in-command and human from Earth, Koover, a well-known fisherman from the south, and Neodjan, a Résethal native that used to live in Vurduresa when it still stood as a city.

Enrique could recall at one point when Ledro in an odd way deserted the council, being seen by him at night one time in the eastern forests, hence he believed he wouldn't be one of the seven.

"It's good to see you all." Archbarn greeted all those who stood in front of him. "It's good even to see this Koopa you have captured. It helps us all." He leaned over the table to have a better glance at the Koopa captive, who was on his knees looking at the floor.

"This Koopa threatened to severely harm loads of people at the Koopa Cape venue earlier this afternoon." Enrique explained their reason for being in the hall. "He chanted the words which in the common tongue are translated to 'for freedom' before running into the tent." Enrique then tossed what looked like small unarmed explosives onto the table in front of Archbarn, Muji and Eoréc, making them look at it closer. Many on the seats at the table gasped and had a look themselves.

"Those are bombs." Koover stated.

"He was going to blow up those inside the tent." Lumpy pointed out. "Killing all those inside, that could have been many important lives, and severe disruption to the south!"

"An act of terror and hostility." Kroop's cranky voice crackled, he remained looking straight. "He was going to kill himself and expect an honourable outcome for those he lives with. Archbarn picked up the wires and components and had a closer look at it all.

"This seems like a northern creation." He stated. "We should have a look in to it, if you let us keep it that is."

"Even I have never seen something so oddly made before." Muji added.

The Appointed Seven discussed quietly amongst themselves in the room, Peach listened in to what Archbarn, Muji and Eoréc had to say about it, and about the Hostile captive Menskem.

"As for the captive." Archbarn recommenced. "We will take hold of him if you let us. We shall question him, examine his background and see if he knows anything that may help us in the future. We know quite a bit about the north so hopefully we could get something new out of him." Peach smiled at his suggestion. "For now we shall lock him up in the cells, I have an urgent matter to speak with to the Queen of the south." Archbarn lay back in his chair and the outer four of the seven got up from their seats and left the hall, and in came two council members, signalling to the management security guards where to put Menskem for the time being. Two more council members entered the hall from the front entrance and stood behind Nikola and Revan.

"We require full privacy." Archbarn stated. "This business is only with the Queen and her trusted companion." He apologised to the two Koopas as they were escorted out of the main hall and had the doors close on them. Revan knew that his work here was now finished, so he began making his way out of the headquarters and towards the station of Aypyidaw, making his way home for the day. Nikola however stood outside the main hall patiently, resting against the walls next to the large doors.

Peach and Enrique stood directly in front of the table waiting for Archbarn and the others to deliver their matter of importance.

"We have heard some terrifying news recently days after Ledro's deserting." He began. "One Hostile captive had claimed that there were over a million active Hostile Koopas and even other species beyond our walls all lying within the cities and towns, and that is far more than we could ever hope to fight against. They now outnumber us over one thousand to one."

"It makes us at risk whenever we deploy some members for a scouting mission, each day they see more and more of them armed with weapons and in some days we come back with one less man or woman." Eoréc pointed out. "We do not want anyone to know about our bad future."

"That's where I come in with this proposal I discussed with some of my friends down south." Peach replied. "We were considering giving the option to many of our light criminals in the south to journey north and work as watchers of the mountains, to help your peoples. I gathered that you have a good fifth of yours operating the tunnels and roads of safety and this instead can be put with people who are willing to be trained for the job."

"That is definitely not enough people, that only gives us about two hundred extra personnel, how is two hundred going to match against a million?" Eoréc argued. "In the best case scenario we accept say half of what you provide and even then it will take too long to train them, these are not soldiers, these are mere criminals doing community service they will not enjoy. Let's hope none of them desert us either and join the other side, it gets bigger and bigger by the day." Peach looked at Enrique hoping he would say anything to back her suggestion up. He looked back at her and then finally spoke.

"There was this idea I had in mind a few days ago." He began. "Instead of punishing those who commit heavy crimes or treason with death or years in prison, we would give them the option to serve north, or they face death." Muji leaned in more, showing interest. "If they desert, it's on their heads and maybe they can serve temporarily and not until they die, meaning once this hassle with the north is dealt with they could potentially return as normal citizens again. Muji started nodding in agreement.

"I like this idea." Eoréc finally agreed. "But I don't like the idea of giving their freedom back to them. Why should the Red Martyrs who wishfully signed up to join us have to be here forever and those people who wrong-did only have a short period of serving the north? That's a bit unfair if you ask me." Peach attempted to speak back in response to Eoréc but instead he kept going on. "In the 22 years this council has been established we have had nobody who has left this council even if asked permission and left alive, it is a vow they took on the day they arrived and knew about it in advance."

"There are only two exceptions to that, but they are to be killed on sight." Muji pointed out to Eoréc, assuming he had forgotten about her. "Jeanette Asquia will be treated like any other deserter, and although I do miss him, Ledro will suffer the same punishment. It's what martyrdom is all about."

"You are willing to die for the safety of the southern lands." Archbarn finished. "We will have to see who we are looking at before recruiting any extra people, we will first look at those who have committed the worst of crimes and give them the offer of our council. Then we will work up from there and finish at wherever we seem is enough." He looked back at Peach and agreed to their proposal. "We need as many people as we can up here. I overthrew this town and made it the fortress it is, and it has been made so to last forever." Peach smiled and nodded in response to his final agreement. "We will categorise those in the cells by those appointed to the council, and then those who only have to serve time temporarily."

"I have another idea." Enrique spoke out to the other four. "If we need our Brigade and Patrol in the south, we can advertise another group of people who work on the mountains and northern defences. The United Defenders." Archbarn gave a last confirming nod, indicating the deal was completed.

"I suppose we should look in to this Hostile then, shall we?" He reminded the others in the room about a new source of aid: interrogating and questioning one of their own. He began to get up from his chair and looked to his right, where the Koopa was taken away from the room. The long corridor was empty-looking and at the end of it was a door leading leftwards towards another exit of the main building, leading directly to another building where most of the locked rooms were.

"Oh I almost forgot." Archbarn laughed as he turned his head back to the main doors, still closed and guarded. "You may want to get your two friends from outside now." Enrique turned around quickly hoping that at least Nikola was still outside.

"Go without me to the Hostile, I'll meet with you once you have questioned him."

"Very well." Archbarn said. "It is a private matter I guess." He walked towards the entrance at a faster pace than usual and opened up the doors of the main hall. Outside the main hall he only saw Nikola, standing against the wall overlooking the courtyard. He looked around the open area clueless but by now he had probably observed as much as he could take in.

"Hey, you owe me big time for all of this." Enrique walked over to Nikola, frustrated that he had seen the interior of the city and looked at all of the trainees working within the open courtyard, something he could tell other Hostiles once he leaves this place.

"I don't owe you anything." Nikola replied. "You haven't done anything."

"I haven't done anything indeed; I haven't told these people the truth about who you really are... unless you want me to tell them now?" Nikola moved off of the wall and pleaded against Enrique.

"No, no, no." He begged. "I have seen enough. I request safe passage out of this city at once." Enrique looked around to see no large amounts of watchful guards. The majority of the courtyard was filled with red-clothed members practicing with weapons or training their fitness. The buildings on the left of the main building were unguarded, but the entrance to the courtyard on the eastern edge was filled with guards just like when they entered.

"Follow me." Enrique instructed, heading back into the main hall.

It was empty; the guards that were watching the door had disappeared as well. He remembered when he arrived in the room that the Appointed Seven came from the left of the wide table, which was also east. Nikola followed Enrique thinking he was leading him out of the city in a more discrete entranceway. All Enrique saw as he walked down the corridors were empty rooms with keys on the door locks, either small cells or places for hiding. At the end of the corridor was one exit out of the building which led directly to another building on the left and a staircase up to the next floor on the right. As they walked down the corridor they noticed that one of the doors was closed and the key was missing, instead it was on the other side of the door where there were two Martyrs talking quietly amongst themselves. Enrique only peered whilst walking by and didn't stop to listen in case they would notice him.

"Where are we going?" Nikola whispered to Enrique as they reached the end of the corridor. Enrique then grabbed him and took him up the spiral staircase quickly. The second floor of the headquarters was empty and ever so quiet. There seemed to be no sign of life anywhere within the corridors and hallways of this floor. "What is going on? Outside was the other way."

"You as a Hostile came in to this city which is literally the enemy lines. You came soaking in information which you are then going to tell everyone you know about what this place looks like and the secrets they have mentioned. I could tell you were eavesdropping on what was said in there." Enrique took Nikola into another small secluded room and pushed him into the centre. He quickly removed the key from the inside and closed the door behind him. "I cannot trust you if you say you will not tell anyone, we are not even friends..." Nikola looked back at him anxiously, knowing he had no escape from the room or Enrique. "If I cannot trust you not to tell anyone what you learned about today then I must kill you." The room turned slightly darker as the sun began to set over the mountains to the south, completely covering the southern part of Aypyidaw in shadow.

"No, please! I'll do anything!" Nikola went on his knees and begged to Enrique, doing it quietly so he wouldn't make a loud noise that may attract attention from anyone else on the floor.

"Prove to me now that you will not tell anyone." Enrique asked, getting out a dagger that he frequently carried around with him from his pocket. Nikola looked at it and went silent, trying to think of what he could do, but he knew damn well that even he couldn't keep secrets away from his kin. His mind underwent several possibilities on what to say and the outcomes of what Enrique would say about it. Most importantly, Nikola knew he wouldn't be welcome in the south.

"If you can't do that perhaps we could treat you exactly how we are treating Menskem." Enrique got up, put his dagger back in his pocket and opened the door, dragging out Nikola and taking him back downstairs and outside into the other building.

"Wait, I could tell you more about us." Nikola made up another reason for being taken away safely on the way. Enrique kept dragging him and looked back laughing.

"Do you really think I care?" Enrique replied. "How is Verida going to act when she finds out how cowardly you've been around me?" The two kept walking through the next building and started to hear more sounds of voices, some more aggressive than others. Enrique noticed a stairway going down to the basement of the building, where most of the captives were imprisoned. He could already hear Muji's voice from here.

At the bottom of the stairway was a long hallway with several locked doors on each side, all leading to small rooms with a number ranging from zero to four Hostile Koopas inside each one. As he dragged his captive down the hallway Enrique saw Muji and the others turn their heads towards him. Peach's eyes widened as she assumed the Koopa who once helped her bring down their current captive was a Hostile in disguise.

"Guards! Cuffs!" Muji commanded, forcing two guards in the same hallway to run over to Enrique and detain Nikola. Peach walked up to him and watched the guards place Nikola into one of the cells with two other Koopas already cuffed inside.

"You will talk to me about him later." She whispered to Enrique. "And I will tell you about Menskem."

"I told you he was one of us!" Menskem's voice echoed from the cell opposite. He was alone in there, unlike Nikola, who was actually met with two Koopas that he immediately recognised. Archbarn led the rest of the group back out towards the top of the stairway but were instantly met with more guards bringing in another, more pale Koopa Hostile.

"Look who has come to join us. Nice one dumbass, how did you get here?" The two Koopas that Nikola recognised were Koopreme and Malcolm, two other Zurlon Hostiles that were part of his acquaintanceship group.

"That bloody human I told Illias to torture got me in here, and what about yourselves? I didn't think either of you two could be so stupid but to get yourselves stuck in here when looking for Dirrug." Nikola rested against a wall opposite to where the other two were resting.

"We were being ourselves looking for him in Urscan, but all of a sudden the town was filled with fatheads. That's why we got brought here." The three heard the guards bring the next pale Koopa into the cell opposite theirs.

"No, not him, anyone but him!" Menskem cried from the cell opposite. Nikola got up on his feet and tried to look through the small window of the doorframe. The management had captured Dirrug as well and brought him here as a prisoner of the Red Martyrs, just like the rest of them.

"Ah, haha! What a fucking idiot, getting himself captured as well!" Koopreme laughed, mocking Dirrug despite being a captive as well.

"Just wait till Illias sees all of this; he's going to murder us all." Malcolm laughed with Koopreme, slightly worrying Nikola on the other side of the room.

"Well isn't this brilliant." Nikola walked back to his original spot in the cell and slouched down. "Three of us in this cell and two others in that one, how many do they have on this floor do you reckon?"

Malcolm brushed his chin. "About thirty from all over the lands, not sure how long they have been here for either." The three put up with constant background chatter amongst all the other Hostiles in the cells, at some parts there would be shouting and moaning, as some people in the cells do not like their chosen cellmates...

 _LATER THAT NIGHT..._

Being too tired to consider journeying down south to rest, Enrique was given a rather small room on the top floor with a window and a bed to sleep in for the night in the headquarters. The sun had set hours ago and he had eaten on his own in the same room after taking his meal from the mess hall. He had just been to the public toilets at the end of the floor's hallway and was soon beginning to doze off, until he heard a knock on his dormitory door. He opened his eyes after a brief period of them being closed, getting up quickly as he didn't have his covers over him either, the humid summer night climate was too much for a duvet. The door was locked, as he didn't really want to be disturbed by Red Martyrs for the rest of the night, even though he wasn't directly told about the interrogation of Menskem. He opened the door, it was Peach.

"All of the Seven are out of the building." Peach told him, letting him know what happened after they separated again after putting the Hostiles in the basement cells. "Something dangerous is happening in the towns near Dargo, there's been an invasion on the innocents in the towns and I think only Neodjan stayed in Aypyidaw." Enrique's face didn't move at all after being spoken to. "You need to tell me about those Koopas though." Peach leaned on the doorway, looking concerned at him. She noticed something suspicious about what happened earlier. "You said to the people that Nikola wasn't hostile, hours later here you've thrown him in the cells saying he is. Additionally he knows everyone in both of those cells we interacted with today. Have you got some explaining to do?" Enrique still said nothing back, but eventually he moved away from Peach and let her in, closing the door behind her and locking it again. Peach stretched her arms as she walked over to Enrique's hard bed and lied back on to it perpendicular to the pillow.

"I've seen them before, a couple of times actually." Enrique turned around and stared at Peach lying seductively on the bed, her biker suit slightly unzipped. The humidity and boredom of being in Aypyidaw completely turned off his affection, but she still moved around like the bed was hers. "They're all I guess acquaintances? With someone I used to know from years back. I wanted to visit him one time after Yoshi Valley and he introduced me to all these people, who are Hostile, I'm blending in and hoping to learn more." He said, unsure if he should proceed to tell her everything. "Some of them heavily dislike me, but I spared his life so I could still be friends with the rest of them." Peach tried to comprehend what he said, leaning up from the bed slightly.

"Give me names." She demanded.

"I saw a lot of familiar faces in the cells."

"I need more than just names by the way, I need details too."

"Fine." Enrique moved closer to the bed and sat on the edge of it, only a few inches from Peach's face, her body resting on the other side of the bed. "The one that was with us today, his name Nikola, he's got a girlfriend called Verida, who is also a Hostile. She's far more aggressive than the average Koopa, attempted to kill me with a rifle up north as well when I was with them briefly. Nikola's a bit of a coward but uses Verida as a form of self-esteem and cockiness."

"What about the others?"

"The two others that were in his cell, Koopreme is one of their names I believe, not sure about the other one, I never heard it being mentioned. There's also Menskem the guy we captured and the pale Koopa who was escorted in last was Dirrug Kurupa, he's also a bit of a coward who probably clings on to the tail of some other Hostile leader."

"The Koopas you connected with, did you learn anything about Hostiles as a whole while you were there?"

"Yes, this part is important. One of the Koopas told me that the Hostile's are not directly united as one massive army but several small clans based all in different parts of the lands. They're all named after people from big cities. The group I was with were part of the Takharim. That included Illias, the main guy who I was meant to meet, he's quite a big Koopa, there's also Nikola and Verida, Johan, who I don't really know much about apart from he's like Illias' right hand man and that he's nice, Koopreme, Dirrug, and that other Koopa in the cells. Menskem is not Takharim he's from another clan, presumably part of the clan nearest to Urscan. Another thing about the Hostiles is that they base their clans with their own land borders, which are quite undefined to us since the south knows nothing about it."

Peach took a deep breath taking in the information. She giggled as she looked at his finished, exhausted face after talking so much, and then smiled. Enrique then lied on the bed facing opposite to Peach, feeling a bit warmer being in her company.

"What did Menskem tell you all?" He then asked Peach.

"Almost nothing." She replied. "And I damn well know he has information in there we could easily get out with more forceful methods. He spat at Eoréc too."

"How's your back feeling?"

"Painless."

Enrique got up and turned around to Peach, lifting her up and slowly unzipping her outfit more from the back. He looked at the mark amidst her soft cream skin. He moved her hair over toward her right shoulder and examined it more closely. It was no different in size to when he first saw it.

"Well it's still there... and still glowing dimly." He pointed out.

"No." She said hesitantly as he attempted to zip the outfit back up. Enrique stopped immediately and tried to lie back on to the bed again. Peach moved her left arm out and placed it to where Enrique's head was going to rest on the bed. He turned his head towards her looking at her outfit slightly off. She gestured with her right hand to tell him to come around to the other side of the bed, and lazily he got up again and slouched over to the other side of his bed, resting against the window of the room.

"The Koopa did tell us one thing." Peach began again. "As we cuffed him again, I heard him mumble: 'the storm shall come with a T' at the moment I don't know what it means, but don't forget it, it may be useful for us later." She looked at him and noticed by his expression that he genuinely wasn't in a helping mood and that he was too tired. It made her wonder if she should unzip any further since the current silence between each person talking made the room more awkward.

"I guess..." Enrique muttered. "We'll find out soon enough." He smiled and moved off of the windowsill towards the bed. Peach reached her arm out to her back and grabbed the zip, lowering it down slightly showing more of her body. She put a convincing look on her face, looking at Enrique as he stood beside the bed. He stood directly in front of her and began unravelling the rest of the outfit down her torso to her thighs. He then stared at her body. She was wearing only a small-sized pink bra with a winged pattern underneath. The sight made him speechless, unsure whether it was because of awkwardness or his admiration for her curves, but then he snapped in his head, keeping his cool. Enrique smiled and got on to the bed and quickly pulled Peach over so that she was on top. She giggled and began taking off Enrique's clothes, and there she could see his bare chest, looking as she expected it to be. Peach lowered her face and rested it against his torso she put her hands on his open arms and moved more onto the bed.

"If you find out anything new in your travels..." She whispered. "You tell me everything, do you understand?" Enrique was unsure in his head about being completely truthful to her, knowing that she was the Queen of the lands of the south and that she could do anything to him if the Brigade could capture him. He moved her and himself over to rest on the pillow of the bed, now lying comfortably.

"How do you see me?" He whispered back. "Are we going back to 2010?" He said slowly. "I wouldn't think a mere servant would be bedding the Queen." The two's heads were centimetres apart, looking at each other resting on the pillow.

"There's not enough space in this world for a King." Peach grinned.

"And you need to make sure he doesn't win, or we're going to go back to chaos." She quickly kissed Enrique, stopping him from saying any more.

"Chaos is upon us whatever happens." Peach stated, immediately followed by a sharp pain to her back, she moved around numbly, getting up quickly. "Ah! It's back again." Her half-naked self stood up and looked back at Enrique. "This is chaos." She pointed to her back. Enrique beckoned her and made her sit on the bed again, her back facing him. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at the scar, it glowed faintly still, and it's size unchanged. He looked at the inside of her outfit and noticed a barely noticeable mark engraved on the position of where the scar was touching it all the times she has worn it. The mark was in the exact same shape as the scar on her back.

"May I touch it?" He asked quietly as Peach looked out the window from the bed. The courtyard of the headquarters was completely dark, and nobody was heard outside except for the watchers on the northern walls, guarding the city and looking out into the open forests.

"Carefully." She said back. "Try not to kill me." Enrique looked at it closely before reaching out to it with his hand. One inch before touching it his eyes noticed a red light appear in front of him and then vanish a fraction of a second later. He flinched slightly, but Peach did not notice, she kept looking out of the window in the distance. Enrique proceeded getting closer to the scar, as he was an inch close again he saw the red light appear in front of his eyes, it wasn't there but in his head. The second time seeing it he noticed it more clearly, it was fiery. This time he didn't flinch and move his finger further away, instead he kept getting closer and closer until he finally touched it.

His hand was sent flying back in agonising pain; he wailed and heard the sound of a sting still lingering on the finger he touched the mark with. Peach felt no pain but Enrique now had a dark spot on his right first finger. It smoked for a few seconds before leaving a mark, unknown whether it is temporary. It burned, making him quickly rush off the bed and towards the sink on the other side of the room. Peach reacted and turned towards him.

"Did you touch it?" She asked, not actually feeling anything when it happened in fact.

"Yes." Enrique replied, washing his finger with cold tap water. The pain slowly went away but he was left with a black mark on the tip of his finger. "It's painful. I guess now I know how you feel every day." He got back on to the bed and lied behind Peach, still sitting up straight with only her bra, pants and the lower half of her outfit on. "I saw something too, just before I touched it... some sort of fire, appeared in front of me. Does that ring any bell to you?"

"I believe I used to see sort of shadows, and things like that in the dreams that I had, but I haven't had any bad dreams ever since this scar appeared on my back. It's like the mark of nightmares has stayed with me but in a different form." Peach got up from the bed and lowered down the rest of her outfit, she was wearing just about enough to be comfortable with Enrique.

"Did the Martyrs give you a separate room?" He asked Peach.

"Of course, whether I want to go back there or not is out of the question." She put her outfit and Enrique's shirt on to the floor out of the way. "Budge up." Enrique moved on the edge of the single bed and let Peach lie back beside him. He looked at her and noticed the scar was making contact with bed surface.

"How does it feel now?" He asked.

"No pain. It seems like normal surfaces do nothing to it, but when someone else touches it... they go mad just like you." She smiled, lying comfortably on her side of the bed. "Do me a favour." Enrique looked confused.

"What?"

"Close the window curtains." He looked over to the window and only now noticed there were curtains to the window. He got up and strolled over to them and shut them, darkening the room completely, he could barely see anything in the room but heard light movement. As he made his way back to the bed after completely blocking out any light from anything outside he reached out to grab the side of the bedcover and getting himself in bed, but instead of feeling covers he was met with what felt like a breast. He felt it for a few seconds and then reached out for the covers with his other hand got into the bed comfortably, putting the covers over himself and Peach...

 **EOC: This chapter only took just over a week to complete, great progress! Hopefully I can keep this rate going for a while and end up having a large surplus of chapters to upload on Fanfiction. That way the whole story can be finished quicker too.**

 **See you next chapter!**


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